The Next Big Idea Daily

First up, Sandeep Jauhar shares insights from his 2023 book, My Father's Brain, exploring his father's descent into Alzheimer's and revealing what neuroscience tells us about why our brains degenerate with age. Then, in the second half of the show, we'll hear a lighter take on aging from Steven Petrow, author of Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morgan Housel explains why real wealth isn't about what you buy but about what you appreciate. Then BU's Lawrence Kotlikoff offers practical financial tips.

As the nation approaches its 250th birthday, Oliver B. Libby lays out a centrist blueprint to restore opportunity and rebuild trust. His new book is Strong Floor, No Ceiling. Then, in act two, we hear from Alissa Quart, author of the 2013 book Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big news: The Next Big Idea Club just announced its nonfiction book pick of the season, and that book is The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, by Walter Isaacson. If you're not already a member of the Next Big Idea Club, you can join to get a signed copy of the book, an invitation to a member-only chat with Walter, and other great perks. To join for yourself, or to give a gift membership, go to NextBigIdeaClub.com. And over at the Next Big Idea, you can hear an in-depth conversation between Walter and Rufus Griscom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This new generation of workers is different, and you can use that to your advantage. 1️⃣ The Future Begins with Z: Nine Strategies to Lead Generation Z as They Disrupt the Workplace by Tim Elmore 2️⃣ The Empathy Advantage: Leading the Empowered Workforce by Heather E. McGowan and Chris Shipley

What does it mean to be human in a world that is increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence? Act One: Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia Act Two: AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI's Future and Save Our Own by Verity Harding

Journalist Michael Grunwald explains how our food system is destroying the planet—and what it will take to fix it. Later, Amanda Little tells us what we'll eat in a bigger, hotter, smarter world.

Why do we fear the wrong things? We worry about plane crashes but not car rides, strangers but not algorithms, sharks but not sugar. In The Fear Knot: How Science, History, and Culture Shape Our Fears – and How to Get Unstuck, journalism professor Ruth DeFoster and neuroscientist Natashia Swalve explore why our brains evolved to fear what once kept us alive — but now often misleads us. The result is a timely, eye-opening look at how to separate fact from fear in a world that profits from keeping us anxious. In the second half of the show, we hear from Ellen Vora, author of the 2022 book The Anatomy of Anxiety.

What if the battlefield isn't just out there, but also inside our heads? In the new book Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, neuroscientist Nicholas Wright draws on his experience advising the Pentagon and the British government to reveal how our brains are built for survival and strategy, in the office and on the battlefield. He shows that the same neural machinery that helps us cooperate, compete, and make moral choices also determines whether we wage war or choose peace. Then, in the second half of the show, we hear some key insights from the 2022 book The New Fire.

First up, we hear from Ranjay Gulati, a Harvard Business School professor whose new book, How to Be Bold, reveals the surprising research on what makes ordinary people capable of brave acts. In the second half of the show, career coach Kathy Caprino shares five key insights from The Most Powerful You. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her 2020 book Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World, Olga Khazan draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and sociology to explore what it means to be different, and why our quirks and peculiarities can be powerful assets rather than liabilities.

Bruce Schneier is a security technologist at Harvard's Kennedy School. Nathan Sanders is a data scientist at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center. They've been studying AI's impact on democratic institutions. Their new book is Rewiring Democracy.

In Food Intelligence, health journalist Julia Belluz and nutrition scientist Kevin Hall deliver a comprehensive guide to food, diet, metabolism, and healthy eating.

Have you ever named your car? Or caught yourself baby-talking to your cat like he's a tiny human? You're not alone, and there's actually fascinating science behind why we do this. We anthropomorphize everything from our Roombas to our houseplants, but is this quirk helping or hurting us? Justin Gregg is an animal cognition researcher, a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project and an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University. His new book, Humanish, explores what our tendency to humanize reveals about us—and why it might actually be one of our smartest habits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CNBC legend reveals why index funds won't make you rich — and how to build lasting wealth by picking your own winning stocks. His new book is called How to Make Money in Any Market.

Five key insights from The Social Biome by Andy Merolla and Jeffrey Hall.

Cory Doctorow calls it “enshittification.” Here's how we got here, and how we can make the internet not terrible again.

We often live like our time is limitless. But what if those who are facing the limits of life are the ones who really grasp what it's all about? Diane Button has worked as a death doula for two decades, sitting beside people at the end of life and learning from their profound insights.

Every leader knows that as tough as it can be to manage others, the real challenge is managing yourself — your insecurities, your bad habits, your distracted thoughts. That's why corporate consultants Suzy Burke, Ryan Berman, and Rhett Power have written a new book called Headamentals: How Leaders Can Crack Negative Self-Talk that helps you learn how to lead, starting with that most important workplace of all — the one inside your head.

Not every decision can be reduced to data. In Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics, and the Art of Decision-Making, Barry Schwartz and Richard Schuldenfrei argue that wisdom begins where the algorithm ends.

Amanda Montell shares five key insights from her 2021 book Cultish.

The problem isn't you: it's the data. Gene Ludwig reveals how America's economic scorecards mask widespread struggle.

Technology was supposed to make life easier. Instead, it's draining our attention and creativity. Paul Leonardi is here to help you recharge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does this sound familiar: You sit down to do some real focused work, and within minutes you've checked your phone, opened three browser tabs, and mentally planned your lunch — all without realizing it. Our attention doesn't just wander anymore. It's being quietly, relentlessly pulled apart by a world designed to fragment it, and most of us have forgotten what real focus even feels like. Zelana Montminy is a behavioral scientist who advises Fortune 500 companies and her new book is called Finding Focus: OwnYour Attention in an Age of Distraction.

How do you build a company that lasts? It's certainly not easy. About half of all small businesses fail within five years, and even large companies struggle to make it to the decade mark. So how do some businesses last for generations, even centuries? According to Eric Becker (The Long Game), founder and chairman of the wealth management firm Cresset, those companies, which he calls Centurions, have figured out how to play the long game.

Check out these big ideas from the 2020 book The Book of Moods: How I Turned My Worst Emotions Into My Best Life by Laura Martin.

It's easy enough to celebrate “disruptive” technologies, but all that disruption can have a real human cost. Job loss, anxiety, environmental fallout — every major shift creates winners and losers. But today's author says the upsides may be worth the turmoil. Scott D. Anthony is a clinical professor of strategy at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, and in his new book, Epic Disruptions, he looks back at the biggest technological upheavals in history — from the printing press to AI — to uncover patterns that can help us not just survive disruption, but thrive in it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Tom Frieden has spent his career on the front lines of public health, from leading the CDC during the Ebola crisis to running New York City's Health Department. Now, as head of Resolve to Save Lives, he's written The Formula for Better Health. Here's the key idea: most of the health tragedies we fear — heart attacks, strokes, many cancers — are avoidable.

Finding alignment across work, relationships, and community starts with naming the values that steer you. Author, executive coach, and leadership educator Robert Glazer's new book, The Compass Within, is a short fable about clarifying what matters and making choices that match.

If you've ever caught your mind spiraling at 2 a.m., you know how it can feel to have your brain working against you. But what if you could train it to be your ally instead of your adversary? In How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend, author and neuroscientist Rachel Barr lays out a practical playbook for turning down the volume on unhelpful loops and turning up the habits that build clarity, calm, and positive momentum.

The always-on culture is bad for business. Malissa Clark has a plan to fix it.

In his new book, Dealing with Feeling: Use Your Emotions to Create the Life You Want, Marc Brackett shows you how to turn emotional confusion into clarity.

If you've ever had a few extra dollars lying around, you've probably been tempted—wisely, I'd say—to invest it. But where? How? David Gardner has spent three decades thinking about this. As the co-founder of The Motley Fool and the host of the Rule Breaker Investing podcast, David has built a track record of making shrewd market moves, along the way spotting companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Tesla long before they were household names. In his new book, Rule Breaker Investing, he offers guidance to let you do the same, helping you build lasting wealth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I don't know if you've noticed, but therapy-speak has gone mainstream. On social media, and in personal and professional communication, you might hear phrases like “I'm triggered,” “that's my trauma,” “I'm being gaslit.” But as common as that kind of jargon is becoming, it's not necessarily helpful, especially for those experiencing true mental illness. Joe Nucci is a licensed psychotherapist, author, and content creator whose new book, Psychobabble: Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free, takes aim at the myths and misconceptions of therapy culture.

AI is writing poems. Cars are driving themselves. It's easy to think the future is already here. But it's not. There's much more coming. The question is: What kind? Flying cars and robot lovers? Social and environmental collapse? Nick Foster, a designer who's worked with Apple, Dyson, and Google X, says our problem isn't what's coming next; it's how we think about it. His new book, Could Should Might Don't: How We Think About the Future, shows why better imagination leads to better outcomes.

The idea of parallel dimensions has long intrigued scientists and screenwriters alike, but how seriously should we take the concept? Here with some guidance is Paul Halpern, author of the 2023 book The Allure of the Multiverse: Extra Dimensions, Other Worlds, and Parallel Universes. Paul is a professor of physics at Saint Joseph's University and the author of eighteen popular science books. He's the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Manipulation is everywhere: in ads, algorithms, politics, even workplace incentives. In the new book Manipulation: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and What to Do About It by Harvard Law professor Cass Sunstein—one of the most cited legal scholars in the world—you'll learn how subtle design choices and social pressures can hijack your autonomy, plus practical steps to spot and resist them in your feeds, at the store, and on the job.

We all know that money can be stressful, confusing, even a little embarrassing, and that applies to pretty much all of us, even the president of the United States. From Abraham Lincoln secretly stashing his paychecks to Gerald Ford's side-hustle retirement, the financial lives of America's leaders have been just as messy and fascinating as our own. In her new book, All the Presidents' Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money, wealth manager and Forbes contributor Megan Gorman shows how the same dramas that hit our wallets have played out in the White House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever had a bad boss? It's painful, but also kind of useful. Because every nightmare manager is basically handing you a playbook of what not to do. And if you pay attention, those horror stories can turn into leadership lessons. Mita Mallick offers such lessons in her new book The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn From Bad Bosses.

Today's big ideas come to us from Harvard cognitive psychologist, public intellectual, and bestselling author Steven Pinker, who's out with a new book called When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows… Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life​. In it, he shows how public, shared awareness shapes everything from markets and politics to first dates and social media pile‑ons, and why understanding it can make you a sharper decision‑maker and a better collaborator.

When it comes to the AI revolution, do you want to be a follower or a leader? To stay ahead of the technology and use it to help your organization thrive, check out these big ideas from The AI-Savvy Leader: Nine Ways to Take Back Control and Make AI Work by David De Cremer.

What could be more terrifying than flying an F-16 fighter jet at supersonic speeds, only feet away from other aircraft? Well, maybe public speaking. Or asking for a promotion. Or simply facing that inner voice that tells you you're not good enough. Those are the fears Michelle "Mace" Curran needed to overcome. Michelle is an Air Force combat veteran who was also the lead solo pilot for the Thunderbirds, those flying daredevils at air shows. But as scary as all that sounds, in her new book The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower, Michelle reveals that the most paralyzing fears she encountered weren't in the cockpit at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've ever been called a "people pleaser" or found yourself constantly putting others' needs before your own, what you're experiencing may actually be a trauma response called fawning. In the new book Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves--and How to Find Our Way Back, clinical psychologist Dr. Ingrid Clayton explains this often overlooked alternative to fight-flight-freeze, an effort to appease threats by trying to make oneself more appealing. Whether in relationships, work, or family dynamics, understanding this pattern can help you reclaim your voice and authentic self.

You may or may not know the name Naval Ravikant, but in Silicon Valley, he's revered as both a sharp investor and a philosopher of modern life. Eric Jorgenson's 2020 bestseller The Almanack of Naval Ravikant distills Naval's wisdom on how to build wealth and happiness without depending on luck.

We like to believe our senses show us the world as it is. But what if your brain is quietly “editing” reality before you ever notice it? In his new book, A Trick of the Mind, psychologist and neuroscientist Daniel Yon explains how the brain builds theories about the world, other people, and even ourselves—and why understanding that process can change how we handle stress, conflict, and decision‑making.

Today, Mario Livio, an astrophysicist who worked with the Hubble Space Telescope, and Jack Szostak, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine, take us inside the quest for cosmic life.

Food is supposed to nourish us, but what if the system that produces our food is actually making us sick? According to Stuart Gillespie, a veteran of global nutrition and development, that's exactly what's happening. He argues that Big Food has become a machine designed less to feed people than to maximize profit, leaving behind a trail of obesity, malnutrition, and environmental damage. But Stuart says there's a way out. His new book is called Food Fight: From Plunder and Profit to People and Planet.

What would make a grown man or woman line up for hours to ride Space Mountain, spend thousands on collectible mouse ears, or plan their year around the release of a new Disney churro? AJ Wolfe reports. Her new book is Disney Adults: Exploring (And Falling In Love With) A Magical Subculture.

Could some of the most daunting problems of our time — division, conflict, and increasing isolation — stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of reality? That's the provocative question at the heart of Jim Ferrell's new book, You and We: A Relational Rethinking of Work, Life, and Leadership. Written in the style of a business fable, like his previous bestsellers Leadership and Self-Deception and The Anatomy of Peace, the book weaves together science, philosophy, and decades of experience in organizational development to reveal a radically different way of seeing organizations — as networks of relationships. And the key to strengthening the relational fabric that holds us together lies not in individuals but in the space between them.

We're used to hearing “the doctor will see you now,” but in the not-so-distant future, that doctor may not be human. That's because human docs are prone to misdiagnosis, burnout, and bias — making our current healthcare system a leading cause of preventable death. In Dr. Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us―and How AI Could Save Lives, medical researcher and philosopher Charlotte Blease makes the case that artificial intelligence could be the physician we need—more consistent, less prejudiced, and infinitely more resilient than the flesh-and-blood doctors we rely on today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're sharing a recent episode from the Webby Award-winning, daily podcast Totally Booked with Zibby. Hosted by Zibby Owens — the powerhouse bookstore owner and bestselling author dubbed "NYC's Most Powerful Book-fluencer" by Vulture — "Totally Booked" delivers interviews with the best, buzziest, and underrated authors to share work that's truly worth your time. In this episode, Adam Met — climate advocate, educator, and the “A” in the multi-Platinum band AJR — dives into his new book Amplify. Adam also reveals how his journey from indie musician to arena headliner taught him the secrets of building a passionate fanbase, which he now applies to activism, advocacy, and policy change.  For more episodes, follow "Totally Booked with Zibby" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. New episodes are released daily! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices