The Hub for Important Ideas

This episode is called Message in a Bottle because it is directed to the people of the future 200 years from now. Hopefully, they will find this recording and hear a unique description of the 21st century.

What are new ways to think about and contend with climate change? This episode seeks new ideas to contend with the threat of climate change, how to understand the varied reactions to the danger, and how to communicate with different groups who may not agree.

What is the psychological importance of leaving a legacy? This episode looks for explanations for some seemingly ordinary aspects of our society that appear strange when examined more closely from a social psychological perspective.

What is temperament and how can it help us to better navigate our lives? This episode features a kitchen table conversation about understanding temperament and psychological type, a useful tool for people to understand how the world is laid out, our place in it, and our strengths and weaknesses.

How do we go beyond the divisions in our society? This episode features part two of a conversation with social psychologist Sheldon Solomon who offers a unique perspective on our polarized country that goes beyond the standard political, social, historical, and economic explanations.

How can we get a better understanding of the divisions in our society? This episode features a conversation with social psychologist Sheldon Solomon who offers a unique perspective on our polarized country that goes beyond the standard political, social, historical, and economic explanations.

What does the War in Ukraine mean to us in America? This episode discusses the war in Ukraine from a different perspective, its implications, and the most difficult aspects for us Americans.

How do we face up to our Mortality in this Diverse Culture? This episode discusses mortality and human flourishing in a diverse culture from a religious perspective. We talk with Dan Liechty, an expert on the works of Ernest Becker and interreligious beliefs.

What is happening to free speech in America? This episode discusses free speech, cancel culture, book banning, wokeism, lies, post-truth, the equal time rule, conspiracy theories, and the human need for control.

How do we get a handle on the complex issue of abortion? This episode discusses the abortion issue, pro-choice, anti-abortion, and the ethical problem from the discerning standpoint of clinical bioethicist Miriam Piven Cotler.

What were some of the important ideas from 2021? This episode, sums up some of the most thought-provoking ideas from our guests, who included Jack Moscou, Lyla Rothschild, Henry Richards, Jerry Piven, Pelin Kesebir, Dan Liechty, Sheldon Solomon, Merlyn Mowrey, and Tomi-Ann Roberts.

How do we understand the problematic reaction to Critical Race Theory in America? This episode discusses Critical Race Theory, wokeism, racial prejudice and discrimination in our society and internationally from the perceptive standpoint of psychologist Henry Richards.

How do we understand the complex psychology of war? This episode wrestles with a distinction between the realistic danger and the fantastical nature of war from the insightful perspective of psychologist Jerry Piven.

Is there more war and wholesale violence in our future? This episode considers the prospect for war in our future from the unique perspective of author Jack Mosscou.

What is feminist existentialism, and how does it impact the lives of both men and women? This episode discusses objectification theory, and related psychological and legal issues. It features an interview with Dr. Tomi-Ann Roberts, professor of psychology and chair of the department at Colorado College.

What is immersion and how does it help us understand our lives? This episode explores the notion of immersion, how it helps us defend against death anxiety, and the many related ideas that notion leads us to. It features an interview with Dr. Merlyn Mowrey, retired Associate Professor of Social Ethics, Department of Philosophy and Religion at Central Michigan University.

How can focusing on death improve our lives and the world around us? This episode discusses death reflection, mindfulness, meditation, what is called the death-positive movement, and related topics. It features an interview with Dr. Sheldon Solomon social psychologist at Skidmore College.

How do we use important ideas to help change ourselves for the better? This episode examines the intrinsic value in some important ideas that can improve our functioning in the world and convey genuine self-knowledge. It features an interview with Dr. Dan Liechty Professor of Social Work at Illinois State University.

How do we improve our lives and our society by practicing humility? This episode discusses humility: its many aspects, and ways it offers hope for the future. It features an interview with social psychologist Pelin Kesebir honorary fellow at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

How do we improve our lives and our society through a better understanding of political fantasy and illusion? This episode discusses rationalization, decision making, our society, and possibilities for hope. It features an interview with psychologist Jerry Piven who teaches in the Department of Philosophy atRutgers University.

This episode discusses a sense of history, gun violence, and celebrates the one-year anniversary of The Hub for Important Ideas podcast. http://www.thehubforimportantideas.com/

How do we understand mental health in America? This episode discusses sanity, psychopathology, our society, and possibilities for hope. It features an interview with psychologist Jerry Piven who teaches in the Department of Philosophy atRutgers University.

What role does unconscious bias play in our society? Psychologist Henry Richards discusses the unconscious basis of racial bias and what it means to our understanding of our society.

What is the impact of social media on our existential concerns? This episode discusses social media and the less than obvious effect it has on our society.

In America today, is our goal to be right, or to make a better country? This episode responds to the January 6 upheaval in Washington, DC. It works toward a perspective on what's been happening and how to move forward.

This episode sums up our first season and recalls some of the seminal ideas from our guests. Our intention is to bring into public discourse the most inspiring ideas we've got, in an attempt to find the best way forward for humanity. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

How do we unite our divided country? This episode looksat the differences between the liberal and conservative alignments in ourculture and explores ways to unite our fractured society.

How do we make the world better for each of us and for our society in this age of individualism? This episode further explores the dual theme of humility andgratitude. This is an area that not only addresses our societal concerns, but also seems most appropriate in this Holiday Season. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

How do we explain misogyny in this supposedlyenlightened era? This episode discusses misogyny and the role ofwomen in our society -- what our culture proscribes about our bodies to shieldus from death anxiety.

How do we select our leader in this incredibly hostile environment anddivided country? This episode continues a discussion aboutpolitics in America to bring some fresh perspective to the 2020 presidentialelection.

What have we learned from the past that helps us make sense of American politics in the present and know what to expect in the near future? This episode talks about politics in America featuring a writer who has a unique perspective.

Where do we find hope for our society that is caught up in an epidemic of narcissism and self-destructive behavior? This episode advances the discussion of our society and opportunities for hope. Dr. Sheldon Solomon extends the concerns about individual and collective narcissism into other areas and explores some new ideas.

How do we find a way forward in a society that is mired in an epidemic of narcissism and struggling with radical economic inequality? This second of three episodes expands a discussion of narcissism to more fully understand what it means to individuals and to our society. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

Where is there hope in this age of Narcissism? This episode discusses narcissism, the unexpected dangers it poses for our society, and possible antidotes that we believe have far reaching potential. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

What is leadership and how do we get better leaders? This episode discusses leadership and the psychological forces at work in our selecting people to follow.

This episode talks about radical economic inequality and the problems it creates in our society.

How do the complexities of child development help us understand what is happening to ourselves and our culture? This episode discusses the vital role child rearing plays in individual human life and more broadly in our society. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

Why is it always about money? This episode discusses the symbolic power of money and how it affects our society and our individual psychological satisfaction. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

What is the pivotal role self-esteem plays in our culture? This episode discusses the key concept of self-esteem, why it is psychologically important, and what's wrong with our society in terms of its role in not helping to provide strong self-esteem. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

What has sex got to do with it? This episode discusses sex and the human body. What our culture proscribes about our bodies to shield us from death anxiety. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

How do we explain the many problems seemingly caused by religion in our society? This episode explores the purpose of religion, and the difficulties religion causes. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

How is it that in this wealthiest of countries we have so many health problems and such unhealthy behaviors? This episode discusses health from a social psychological perspective, what contributes to the many health problems in our society, and how it all relates to the pandemic. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

How do we overcome the conflicts at the heart of our society and in ourselves? This episode discusses conflicts, from the way we cope with our individual anxieties to our society's militarization and attempts to dominate the world.

Why is there wholesale dissatisfaction in our society? Is the answer thinking the unthinkable? This episode follows up our discussion of Kirby Farrell's interview on our culture's contradictions, and examines the violent reactions to the protests of the killing of George Floyd.

How do we make sense of the many contradictions in our culture? Is the answer thinking the unthinkable? This episode explores our culture's paradoxes and what they mean for our fellow Americans trying to live a meaningful life.

How do we understand war, violence, and evil in the twenty-first century? This episode features an interview with Dr. Jerry Piven who explores violence in its many forms, its psychological underpinnings, as well as heroism and fantasy.

How do we relate the apparent illusions at the heart of society to the realities of life? In this episode we further explore the psychological human need for illusion .

How do we make sense of the apparent illusions at the heart of society? In this episode we explore the deep rooted psychological human need for illusion with Dr. Merlyn Mowrey.

Why is there bigotry? In this episode Dr. Sheldon Solomon offers a unique perspective on prejudice, the psychological underpinnings for it, and the problem in America.

In this, our first episode we introduce ourselves and give you some idea of where we're coming from.