The Next Big Idea is a weekly series of in-depth interviews with the world’s leading thinkers. Join hosts Rufus Griscom and Caleb Bissinger — along with our curators, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink — for conversations that might just change the way you see the world. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.
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You know that feeling when you meet someone and something just … clicks? Scientists have a name for it. They call it “interpersonal synchrony.” Turns out we subconsciously mimic other people’s movements, postures, facial expressions, and gestures. We even sync involuntary functions like heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves, pupil dilation, and hormonal activity. Kate Murphy, author of the forthcoming book Why We Click , says interpersonal synchrony — syncing for short — is our superpower. But...
Evan Ratliff started a company last summer. He and his co-founders came up with a name, hired a team, built a website, and launched an app. They interviewed interns, planned a company hiking trip, and fielded inbound interest from VCs. Normal startup stuff. Except for one thing: All of Evan's employees are AI agents. So are his co-founders. He's been documenting the journey on his podcast Shell Game — what works, what doesn't, and what it might tell us about a future where AI employees are every...
As the co-founder and CEO of Circle — the fintech powerhouse that issues USDC, a popular cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar — Jeremy Allaire has had a front-row seat to the crypto revolution. Circle now commands a market cap of over $20 billion, yet Jeremy insists it is still an "early stage company." Why? Because the true transformation of the global economy, he says, is just beginning. In this episode, Jeremy and Rufus discuss how the economic system is becoming “internet native," what hap...
Chris Dixon runs a16z crypto, a fund that has raised more than $7 billion. So it’s no surprise that when talking about the blockchain, he says things like, “ I've never seen a situation in technology where the gap between what I believe is the potential of the technology and the perception is so wide.” The thing is, he may be right. From enabling digital ownership to complementing AI, the blockchain is poised to reshape the world. In this episode, which first aired in February 2024, Chris explai...
Maryanne Wolf is a UCLA professor and the renowned author of "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain" and "Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World." She says deep reading makes you a better thinker, communicator, and citizen. But what happens if you lose the ability to read slowly, patiently, and critically? Is there anything you can do to get it back? Sponsored By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbi The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% a ...
This is one of our favorite episodes — a conversation with Priya Parker, a conflict resolution specialist who’s worked on peace processes around the world, about her book The Art of Gathering . What she told him changed how we think about every dinner party, every work meeting, every family get-together we host. Priya’s argument is simple but radical. She says most of our gatherings fail because we focus on the wrong things. We obsess over the menu, the playlist. And we ignore the one question w...
What does it mean to flourish? According to author Daniel Coyle, flourishing is “joyful, meaningful growth — shared.” But how do you achieve that enviable state? The answer lies in Dan’s forthcoming book, “Flourish,” which you can pre-order now on Amazon , Audible , or Bookshop.org . Highlights: (5:11) Life isn't a treasure hunt; it’s more like treasure creation (14:15) The $90 million deli that said no to Disney (20:40) Your brain’s two attention systems (58:00) The rule of the beautiful mess (...
In our divided nation, there's one thing many of us seem to agree on: winter sucks. A recent study found that nearly half of Americans would skip winter if they could. Yet not everyone dreads the cold months. Psychologist Kari Leibowitz has spent years studying these winter-lovers, and she's arrived at a surprising truth: people who thrive this time of year aren't just born that way — they've learned to see the season differently. So can you. (This episode first aired in January 2025.) Sponsored...
Daniel Coyle will soon join us on the show to talk about his forthcoming book, Flourish . Today, we're revisiting our 2022 conversation with Dan about his last book, The Culture Playbook . Here's how we described the episode back then: The filmmakers at Pixar. The servers at Union Square Cafe. The badasses on SEAL Team Six. What do these super successful groups all have in common? Strong team culture. But what exactly is culture, and how do you build it? Daniel Coyle has spent the last few years...
Rufus Griscom moderates a panel with leaders from Mozilla Foundation, New York Academy of Sciences, Tech:NYC, and Vanderbilt to discuss AI's profound impact on higher education. They debate whether traditional universities are obsolete, explore innovative approaches like Vanderbilt's new computing college, and consider AI's role in personalized learning, academic integrity, and empowering teachers. The conversation also delves into the evolving job market, the renewed importance of humanities, and the essential skills students will need for a future shaped by advanced AI.
New York Times columnist David Brooks explores the art of seeing others deeply, shifting his focus from politics to human connection. He argues that genuine attention and curiosity are primary moral acts, essential for overcoming societal dehumanization and distrust. Brooks shares practical conversational tips and personal insights on how cultivating these skills can enrich individual lives and mend a fraying social fabric.
In a live Q&A, Brené Brown delves into what drives her work, her Texan roots, and the core tenets of "Strong Ground." She challenges conventional notions of power and courage, emphasizing that true leadership requires embracing vulnerability and disciplined humility, not fearlessness. Brown also discusses the societal implications of limited emotional language and the critical importance of self-awareness, connection, and trust for navigating a rapidly changing world shaped by AI and increasing disconnection.
In a live conversation with Adam Grant, Brené Brown explores courageous leadership, emphasizing the identification and operationalization of core values. They delve into strategies for effective communication, like checking "the story I'm making up" and the power of "that's right" from hostage negotiation. The discussion also covers the nuances of vulnerability, setting healthy boundaries, and challenging concepts like "executive presence," encouraging leaders to prioritize learning, care, and mission clarity.
In this episode, acclaimed biographer Walter Isaacson delves into his book "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written," which unpacks the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. He explores its profound meaning for the founding fathers, their vision for a new nation built on individual rights, compromise, and a robust "commons." Isaacson highlights how these principles remain critical for navigating contemporary challenges like political polarization, economic disparity, and the erosion of shared societal experiences. The discussion underscores the importance of continuous self-improvement and unity as America approaches its 250th anniversary.
Legendary biographer Walter Isaacson delves into the enigmatic life of Elon Musk, tracing his evolution from a celebrated innovator to a highly controversial figure. The discussion covers Musk's intense personality, his brutal childhood, and how his risk-addicted approach has fueled groundbreaking advancements in electric vehicles and space travel, while also leading to public controversies, especially with his acquisition of Twitter and Starlink's role in the Ukraine war. Isaacson explores the complex balance between Musk's love for humanity and his interpersonal brusqueness.
Andrew Ross Sorkin’s new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation , is an eye-opening account of the forces that led to the worst financial crisis in history and the lessons that disaster can teach us about today’s economy. (7:09) Life before the crash (8:58) How Americans developed a taste for leverage (17:10) What happened on Black Thursday (20:05) Why so few people saw the crash coming (26:23) Could the crash have been averted? (37:13) Andrew’...
Nick Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic. But he moonlights as a damn good runner. At 44, he ran a marathon in 2 hours and 29 minutes, making him one of the fastest marathoners his age on the planet. He later set an American age group record in the 50K. He has run in blazing heat with ice tucked into his hat and in frigid cold with Vaseline dabbed on his nose. He's run up sunny mountain trails and down dark city streets. He has run, and run, and run some more. His relationship with the sport is ...
As promised, today we’re bringing you a full-length interview with Steven Pinker about his new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . .: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life . What is common knowledge? For Steve, it is not conventional wisdom. Instead, it’s when everyone knows something and everyone knows that and everyone knows it. That may sound loopy, but the implications of common knowledge — how it’s produced, sustained, and manipulated — are prof...
Caleb is joined by Sam Kass, former senior food policy advisor to President Obama and the chef who cooked dinner for the first family most nights. Now a partner at a venture capital firm investing in food and agriculture tech, Sam has a new book out, The Last Supper: How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis . The situation, he says, is bleak. Almonds, artichokes, chocolate, coffee, oysters, rice, wine — all at risk due to climate change. And that’s not even close to the full list. Our food system ...
Dave Blundin has co-founded 23 companies, co-hosts the Moonshots podcast, runs the VC firm Link Ventures , teaches at MIT, and has been building neural networks since the 1980s. His take: “[AI is] under-hyped. It's absolutely going to change the world in the next couple of years more than any change in human history. There's nothing even vaguely comparable to it.” — (7:37) “Stop sleeping. Rush to everything you do.” (15:16) Why he started building neural nets at MIT in the 1980s (16:19) Should y...
Angus Fletcher has a PhD in literature from Yale and teaches English at Ohio State. He’s passionate about Shakespeare. He probably owns a tweed jacket. In other words, he’s the last person you’d expect to receive the Army’s fourth-highest civilian honor. But when he’s not parsing King Lear or dissecting Hamlet, Angus is pioneering research into narrative cognition — our ability to think in stories — and how it can make us smarter. When the Army put his theories to the test, his methods reshaped ...
Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker shares five key insights from his brand new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . He reveals how “common knowledge” — the hidden force of knowing what others know — shapes everything from financial bubbles and political revolutions to why we say “Netflix and chill.” Then we revisit our 2021 conversation with Steve about rationality, where he explains why smart people believe dumb things, why we're terrible at assessing risk, and how our species can be...
Today's AI runs on neural networks, a design originally inspired by the human brain. As these systems grow more sophisticated, they're raising a profound question: Even if they don't work exactly like our brains, could something resembling a "mind" eventually emerge from the machines we're building? Guests: Gaurav Suri and Jay McClelland Book: The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines ——— Want to connect? 🔗 Follow Rufus on LinkedIn 📖 Subscribe to our daily newsletter, B...
It’s rare these days for a book to go viral, but that’s exactly what happened with The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt. Now in its 75th week on the New York Times’ bestseller list, the book reveals a startling truth: Starting in 2012, teen depression rates suddenly spiked 150% worldwide, perfectly coinciding with the moment smartphones and social media conquered childhood. But Haidt doesn't just diagnose the crisi...
Arthur C. Brooks is an unlikely happiness guru. He’s not a psychologist, philosopher, or mystic. He’s an economist and public policy analyst who, for years, ran a prominent think tank. But rubbing shoulders with heads of state and titans of industry made him miserable. Confronted with the sobering realization that for too long he’d privileged work over connection and status over happiness, he left the c-suite and set about renovating the mission of his life. Before long, Arthur was teaching at H...
What if, thanks to AI, you can now research and write a book two, three, or even four times faster? For authors and AI pioneers Steven Johnson (Editorial Director, NotebookLM and Google Labs) and Ethan Mollick (Wharton professor and creator of One Useful Thing ), that's the new reality. In this episode, they crack open their personal toolkits to reveal the prompts and workflows they use to supercharge their creativity. What you’ll learn: How Steven used AI to write 40,000 words in 72 hours. The ...
On a June night several years ago, Sebastian Junger, bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo, lay on an operating table, dying. An undiagnosed aneurysm in his pancreatic artery had ruptured, flooding his abdominal cavity with blood. His odds of survival were between 10 and 20 percent. "I said, 'Doc, you've got to hurry. You're losing me right now. I'm going.'" This near-death experience inspired him to embark on a scientific, philosophi...
We all have eureka moments, sudden bursts of certainty that seem to come out of nowhere. What if you could summon that feeling on command? Laura Huang, a business school professor, has been studying that question. She’s found that for the world's most successful people, intuition isn't an accident. It's a skill. A tool they’ve sharpened. Today on the show: the practical steps you can take to turn a random hunch into your most reliable guide. 📕 Grab a copy of You Already Know 📱 Sign up for The ...
We have a pretty good idea what ancient civilizations looked like. But what did they taste, smell, and feel like? 📕 Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean 📱 Sign up for Next Big Idea Club+ on Apple Podcasts, and you’ll get ad-free listening, bonus episodes, subscriber-only shows, and more. 📩 Want to transform your day in just 10 minutes? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter, and you’ll get daily, bite‑sized insights from the best new nonfiction books — in audio or text — straight from the aut...
All day long, your brain makes subconscious value calculations. It looks at every decision and asks, "What is going to be most rewarding for me right this very minute?" That creates a gap, doesn't it? A gap between the person you want to be and the choices you actually make. Today on the show, neuroscientist Emily Falk explains the science behind that gap. She shows us how understanding our brain's hidden valuation system can give us more compassion for ourselves, and help us gently nudge our da...
