The Next Big Idea Daily

Pria Anand reveals how our minds create elaborate stories to fill the gaps we don't understand.

In a world where fitting in can seem critical to your survival, it's worth asking: What if your power lies in not belonging? Psychiatrist Rami Kaminski thinks that sense of being an outsider isn't a bug — it's a feature.

Science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer, shares research-backed strategies for parenting with compassion, curiosity, and resilience from her new book, Hello, Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times.

To close out the week, here are five key insights from Roy Richard Grinker's book Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness.

Juliet Schor shares the data behind a shorter workweek—and why it's better for your health, your boss, and the bottom line. Her new book is Four Days a Week.

In a world armed to the teeth and governed by split-second decisions, Six Minutes to Winter by Mark Lynas makes a chilling argument for total nuclear disarmament — before it's too late.

Want to be more persuasive, inspiring, or just less forgettable? Today's episode has the tools to help you stand out.

Today, Travis Bradberry, author of The New Emotional Intelligence, argues that understanding and managing your emotions — and the emotions of others — is even more important than IQ when it comes to success at work and in life.

Think about the best relationships in your life, the ones where you can be completely yourself, speak honestly, and know the other person truly gets you. What if you could build more relationships like that — at home, at work, anywhere. That's the promise of Connect, a book by Stanford professors Carole Robin and David Bradford, based on their legendary course in emotional intelligence. Turns out deeper connection isn't some mysterious talent. It's a learnable skill.

In their new book, Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers, Brown University economists Mark Blyth and Nicolò Fraccaroli explain who wins, who loses, and—most importantly—how you can land on the right side of that equation.

In his new book, Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance, journalist Henry Abbott explores how cutting-edge sports science is rewriting what we know about movement, injury, and staying active — for life.

Turns out that speaking isn't just a way of communicating important information and ideas. Psycholinguist Maryellen MacDonald says it's also good for you. Her new book is More Than Words.

If you want your organization to succeed in the future, you need to take advantage of AI now. Lucky for you, Adam Brotman and Andy Sack have written AI First, a playbook that can help you future-proof your business.

How do we decide what we want? By imitating other people, says Luke Burgis. His new book is Wanting. • If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us by subscribing to our daily newsletter. You'll get transcripts, quizzies, bonus features, and more. Learn more at bookoftheday.nextbigideaclub.com

Want to save money, the planet, and your sanity? Sustainability expert Ashlee Piper says the answer is simple: stop buying things.

Chris Berdik reports on how our increasingly noisy world affects our health, well-being, and the planet. His new book is Clamor.

Cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith shares five key insights from her new book, Bad Friend. • Support the show by subscribing to our daily newsletter. You'll get transcripts, quizzes, bonus features, and access to our archives

The old rules of management don't work anymore. Today, Paula Davis, founder of the Stress & Resilience Institute, shares what smart leaders are doing instead. Her new book is ⁠Lead Well⁠. • Support the show by subscribing to our daily newsletter. You'll get access to transcripts, quizzes, bonus content, and our archive of book bites.

Russell Foster, professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford, shares the new science of catching z's. • Support the show by subscribing to our daily newsletter

Zach Mercurio shares insights from his new book, The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance.

Linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna aren't feeling the AGI. • Support the show by subscribing to our daily newsletter

Emily Falk reveals the hidden calculations that shape our daily decisions ― and how to make more fulfilling, impactful choices in our work, relationships, and lives. Her new book is What We Value. • Support the show by subscribing to our daily newsletter • Comment on this episode!

Acclaimed poet Maggie Smith says everyone is creative — yes, even you.

Joe Keohane on the benefits of connecting in a suspicious world. • Support the show by subscribing to our daily newsletter

Marina Lopes's new book is Please Yell at My Kids. • Comment on this episode! • Support the show by subscribing to our newsletter

Dopamine makes it easy to get stuck in a cycle of never being truly satisfied. It promises happiness, but can never deliver. A more fulfilling life begins with training your brain to overcome the dopamine chase. It's easier than you think. • Comment on this episode! • Support the show and get transcripts, book lists, and more

In his new book, More Everything Forever, science journalist Adam Becker investigates the wildly implausible and often profoundly immoral visions of tomorrow — and shows why, in reality, there is no good evidence that they will, or should, come to pass. • Comment on this episode! • Support the show and get transcripts, polls, book lists, and more

We're kicking off the week with a fresh take on leadership from Sébastien Page, chief investment officer at T. Rowe Price.

Not so long ago, conservative intellectuals believed universities were worth fighting for. Today, conservatives seem more inclined to burn them down. Today on the show, conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks makes the case that liberal education is an antidote to this despair, because the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable.

Eric Topol is the executive vice president and a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, the largest nonprofit biomedical institute in the United States. He is also a practicing cardiologist and one of the ten most-cited medical researchers. His new book is Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity.

Retired Navy SEAL commander and performance expert Rich Diviney reveals a revolutionary method for training individuals and teams to perform at their best, no matter what.

Today, we hear from Jake Knapp, the guy who helped build Gmail, about his new book, Click. It's an innovative guide for starting big projects the smart way.

Kids today are more susceptible than ever to anxiety and stress. Fortunately, there are ways to help.

Taylor Swift isn't just a once-in-a-generation talent. She's also a brilliant businesswoman, says Harvard Business Review editor Kevin Evers, whose career is a masterclass in brand-building, audience engagement, and tactical reinvention.

A new way to thrive in times of uncertainty.

Are you an ambitious hard worker and high achiever ― but feeling stuck, unseen, and struggling to advance in your career? Lorraine K. Lee can help you change that.

Drew Ramsey wants us to approach mental fitness the way we approach physical fitness. Today, he shares his training regimen.

Teddy bears. Paddington. Winnie-the-Pooh. Somewhere along the way, bears wandered out of the wilderness and straight into our imaginations — and our hearts. But outside of the storybooks, the remaining species of bear face a difficult reality: shrinking habitats, poaching, and deadly encounters with our species.  Reuters journalist Gloria Dickie explores that reality in the book Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future.

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, shares some big ideas from her new book, Hate the Game.

Bonnie Tsui, longtime contributor to The New York Times, shares key insights from her new book On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters.

Madeline Mann's new book is Reverse the Search: How to Turn Job Seeking into Job Shopping.

Adulting is hard. Lucky for us Raffi Grinberg, author of How to Be a Grown Up, is here to help.

Sir David Spiegelhalter offers a data-driven guide to managing risk and uncertainty.

In an age of constant connectivity, privacy can feel like a relic of the past. But Lawrence Cappello says it's vital for free societies and essential for a fulfilling life. 

After nearly two decades at Google, where she went from entry-level to executive and helped generate billions in revenue, Jenny Wood realized the secret to success isn't being nice, modest, or agreeable—it actually might call for being a little bit selfish, a little bit shameless, and just manipulative enough to get what you want.

Sabina Nawaz is the author of You're the Boss: Become the Manager You Want to Be (and Others Need).

Laura Delano spent fourteen years under psychiatric care, working with a variety of diagnosed mental illnesses and trying every drug and therapy that promised to “fix” her. But eventually she started wondering what if the problem wasn't in her brain, but in the system itself?

Science writer Thomas Ramge makes the case for geoengineering.

Two former Harvard faculty members join forces to introduce conflict resilience: the radical act of sitting in and growing from conflict to break the bad habits that sabotage our politics, workplaces, and most important relationships.

Emmy award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Tamsen Fadal on how to take midlife into your own hands.