Podcasts about Jonathan Gottschall

Laura Câlțea este o cititoare de cursă lungă, după cum se recomandă ea însăși. Dar nu ține pentru ea ce citește, ci împărtășește cu alții. Mulți alții. A reușit să construiască o comunitate de peste 12.000 de cititori, membri în Clubul cititoarelor și cititorilor de cursă lungă. Și, în prezent lucrează la o aplicație dedicată organizării lecturilor personale, BIBLIOFIL. Totul a început cu un blog, acum 12 ani.Laura Câlțea: „Avem două cluburi de carte lunar. Unul, în fiecare ultima zi de vineri a lunii, unde votăm cartea lunii, iar cel care propune cartea cîștigătoare este și moderatorul clubului. La ora 10, moderatorul pune o postare în care își spune părerea despre carte, iar în comentarii stăm și spunem toată ziua ce ne-a plăcut și ce nu ne-a plăcut. Se comentează foarte mult la cluburile astea. Iar cel de-al doilea club este o provocare pe care am inițiat-o la începutul anului, i-am zis „Un an de lecturi. Literatură clasică europeană.” Am propus 12 cărți, începînd cu „Odiseea” și terminînd cu „Toba de tinichea” a lui Günter Grass. În fiecare vineri de la mijlocul lunii, pun o postare mai lungă, în care nu comentez neapărat cartea, ci în care fac un context literar la cărții respective. La „Odiseea” vorbesc despre faptul că inițial nu era o carte, era o povestire orală, pe care oamenii o ascultau. Adică încerc să dau un context literar cărților, pentru că în grup sînt foarte mulți cititori care nu sînt absolvenți de filologie sau de științe umaniste și care de multe ori mi-au spus că ar vrea să știe mai multe. (...) Eu personal aveam nevoie să trec din nou prin literatura clasică și pentru mine chiar a fost și este în continuare un exercițiu terapeutic. Pentru că mă ajută să-mi dau seama de ce îmi place atît de mult să citesc și de ce literatura ne poate ajuta să trăim mai bine, să înțelegem lumea mai bine.” De ce să mai citim în lumea asta atît de tensionată și agitată?Laura Câlțea: „Nu pot să garantez că cititul te va ajuta să te simți mai în siguranță în lumea asta. Pe mine m-a ajutat. Anul trecut am stat într-o anxietate pe care cred că nici în pandemie n-am trăit-o așa de acut cum am trăit toate știrile și toate evenimentele politice de la noi și de prin altă parte. Și tot ce aveam în minte să fac mi se părea că este inutil pentru că totul era de cursă lungă. Și atunci am decis să renunț la teama de a face ceva și am pornit două proiecte de cursă lungă. Proiectul cu un an de lecturi și aplicația. Pe mine mă ajută și sînt și alți oameni pe care îi ajută. Este științific dovedit că noi așa gîndim, creierul nostru este făcut să gîndească în povești. Poveștile ne calmează, ne ajută să înțelegem lumea. Jonathan Gottschall în „Animalul povestitor” spune că poveștile sînt pentru creierul nostru simulator pentru viață.”Apasă PLAY pentru a asculta întreaga discuție!O emisiune de Adela GreceanuUn produs Radio România Cultural

Na estante desta semana, temos o relato autobiográfico “A Analfabeta”, da húngara Agota Kristof; um ensaio sobre a nossa necessidade de histórias: “Storytelling - Como as histórias nos tornam humanos”, de Jonathan Gottschall; uma introdução ao cristianismo para leitores japoneses em “Uma Vida de Jesus”, de Shusaku Endo; e ainda “Gambitos da Imaginação - O Xadrez como Ferramenta para Pensar”, de Diniz Cayolla Ribeiro. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weaving together current events, political polarization, and the power of storytelling over facts, this episode explores the fragility of democracy in the digital age. Todd examines insights from George Washington, Walter Lippmann, Jonathan Gottschall, and Nicholas Carr, questioning whether media literacy or ethical gatekeeping can overcome our tribal instincts. This episode offers a candid look at the roots of division and the possibly futile search for solutions in a hyper-connected world. Major Segments with Time Cues - 00:00:00] Introduction and podcast rebrand announcement - [00:01:00] Jeffrey Epstein news and political implications - [00:06:40] Challenges facing democracy and ideological threats - [00:12:00] George Washington on factions and foreign interference - [00:21:00] Jonathan Gottschall's storytelling theory and democracy - [00:24:00] Nicholas Carr on digital media's divisive effects - [00:39:00] Potential solutions: media literacy, gatekeeping, safeguards? - [00:55:00] Podcast platform changes and rebranding plans   Like it? Rate, review, and share it?  Hate it? Embrace equity! Listen anyhow!   More: https://toddzillax.substack.com/ Vids: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjdLR140l--HufeRSAnj91A/?themeRefresh=1    

As you might have noticed, the world is awash in narratives. You hear people talk about “establishing the narrative”, or noting that “in the last 24 hours the narrative has changed.” We don't talk about facts any more, we talk about narratives. And more than that. Narratives are, many have decided, cause conflict. They enable genocide, and wars. They are also embedded into our biology–”hardwired”, to use a word popular with neurobiological enthusiasts– due to evolutionary developments, and so by narrative we shall always be afflicted.  With me today to discuss narrative is Adrian Goldsworthy, who has committed numerous acts of narrative in both history and fiction. He was last on the podcast in Episode 332 to discuss the tangled history of Rome and Persia, which he wrote about in his most recent book Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry. This is his fifth appearance on the podcast. I should add that this episode was first dropped to our subscribers on Patreon, the members of Historically Thinking's Common Room; and that if you were a member of the Common Room, you would have already heard it. For Further Investigation Adrian Goldsworthy has previously been on the podcast in the following episodes, and discussing these topics: Episode 63, on Julius Caesar as a historian; Episode 75, on Hadrian's wall; Episode 182, on Philip Macedonia and his spoiled-brat son; and finally the aforementioned Episode 332 on Rome v. Persia. We've discussed the problematic nature of narrative in Episode 243 with Jonathan Gottschall, the author of The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears Them Down. WARNING: he is not as keen on narrative as Adrian.

Dreams are messages from the deep; but where will our dreams ultimately take us? In this episode, we begin our deep dive into all things 'Dune', including an analysis of the 2021 film. We explore this cautionary tale through the lenses of identity and destiny, incorporating insights from Jonathan Gottschall's book The Storytelling Animal.  Introduction (0:00) Why We Chose 'Dune' (1:33) 'Dune's' Context (4:26) Analyzing 'Dune' (13:18) The Storytelling Animal & 'Dune's' Relevancy (36:20) Conclusion (41:46) Stay up to date with our movie club, and see which films we'll cover in the future. All Things Narrative exists to guide you towards telling and living your story more meaningfully. Explore the story your life is telling through a FREE Discovery Call sign-up at: allthingsnarrative.com Follow us on Instagram @allthingsnarrative Like us on Facebook @allthingsnarrative Connect with Derrick on Letterboxd @thenarrativeguy Check out Joseph's stop-motion films on YouTube @JoeLee Stark25 Produced by All Things Narrative LLC

Philosophy: Philosophy is Life - Epistemology: http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/FiveBranchesMain.htmlNews: The stupid, the ignorant and the evil: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/05/trump-supporters-republican-approval-cnn-town-hall/674142/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpfHCSRIRf4Conversations with an Atheist: Harmful biblical directives:https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/story/opinion/letters/2007/11/11/bible-full-of-immoral-acts/27732069007/Closing: Ain't No Half-Stepping: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2024/01/04/alena-mcquarter-15-year-old-college-graduate/72094788007/

This month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall.Matt Madden is the host of the Path to Presales Podcast.Be sure to check out https://demojockeys.com/ for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more.Next month's book is Range by David Epstein.Music: The Wu Town Shuffle by Mr. Lincoln

This month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall.Matt Madden is the host of the Path to Presales Podcast.Be sure to check out https://demojockeys.com/ for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more.Next month's book is Range by David Epstein.Music: The Wu Town Shuffle by Mr. Lincoln

This month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall.Check out the Heider and Simmel animation mentioned in the episode.Be sure to check out https://demojockeys.com/ for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more.Next month's book is Range by David Epstein.Music: The Wu Town Shuffle by Mr. Lincoln

Fiction is an ancient virtual reality technology that specializes in simulating human problems.“Like a flight simulator, fiction projects us into intense simulations of problems that run parallel to those we face in reality. And like a flight simulator, the main virtue of fiction is that we have a rich experience and don't die at the end.”That was Jonathan Gottschall. This is the stunningly brilliant Chris Torbay.“My name is Michelle, and I work for Chapman Insurance. I work in the call center answering the phone. ‘What kind of job is that?' you're thinking. Well, when it's your call, maybe I make a difference for you. Maybe you were dreading another one of those stupid corporate phone things with their ‘press one' and ‘press two' and ‘press six if a palm tree just fell on your doghouse,'… but you get to talk to a person, and you get to tell a real person how worried you are. And I get it because I'm a real person and I do this for a living! And I can see your policy and answer your questions because I know how confusing this can be, and when you hang up, you feel like someone with a heart and a soul, and a pretty awesome understanding of insurance has had the basic human decency to answer the phone and talk to you like a person instead of making you press six!!!!! My name is Michelle!!!! I work with Chapman, and your insurance call matters to me!!!!”[MALE VOICE] Visit cigFlorida.com© Chris Torbay 2023Jonathan Gottschall goes on to say,“Fiction seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than nonfiction, which is designed to persuade through argument and evidence. Studies show that when we read nonfiction, we read with our shields up. We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard.”“There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth.”– Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature“Escapist fantasies are laughably superficial. Attaining them isn't what we really want. If we did, they'd no doubt bore or disappoint us. We don't want the fantasy. We want to fantasize.”– Evan Puschak, Escape into Meaning, p.109“The one thing emphasized in any creative writing course is ‘write what you know,' and that automatically drives a wooden stake through the heart of imagination. If they really understood the mysterious process of creating fiction, they would say, ‘You can write about anything you can imagine.'”– Tom Robbins“Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels.”– Francisco GoyaBut how does a person become creative?“When you notice a commonality between two or more things, you say, ‘Oh there's something there.' And now we make what's called a charm bracelet: You take these things and you find a way to associate them. So that's the process: I'm thinking about this [one] thing and then remember this [other] thing, and then you go, ‘Oh there's something there — let me connect those 2 things.”– Jerry SeinfeldBrandon Sanderson agrees with Jerry Seinfeld:“The way that human creativity works is by combination. That's what we're really good at. We don't come up with a completely new creature. We put a horn on a horse and go, ‘Look at that, that's cool.' That's how we create on a fundamental level.”And Steve Jobs agreed with both Seinfeld and Sanderson:“Creativity equals connecting previously...

This month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall.Be sure to check out https://demojockeys.com/ for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more.Next month's book is Range by David Epstein.Music: The Wu Town Shuffle by Mr. Lincoln

This month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall. Pick up a copy todayBe sure to check out https://demojockeys.com/ for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more.Next month's book is Range by David Epstein.Music: The Wu Town Shuffle by Mr. Lincoln

This month's book is Just F*ing Demo by Rob Falcone, who joins us this week on the show! Pick up a copy: https://www.amazon.com/Just-ing-Demo-Tactics-Leading/dp/1505698804Be sure to check out demojockeys.com for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more. Next month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall: https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Animal-Stories-Make-Human/dp/0544002342

This month's book is Just F*ing Demo by Rob Falcone. Pick up a copy: https://www.amazon.com/Just-ing-Demo-Tactics-Leading/dp/1505698804This week we discuss using We vs You language during presentations.Be sure to check out demojockeys.com for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more. Next month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall: https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Animal-Stories-Make-Human/dp/0544002342

This month's book is Just F*ing Demo by Rob Falcone. Pick up a copy: https://www.amazon.com/Just-ing-Demo-Tactics-Leading/dp/1505698804Join the discussion this week about using buckets to better organize your demonstration.Be sure to check out demojockeys.com for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more. Next month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall: https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Animal-Stories-Make-Human/dp/0544002342

This month's book is Just F*ing Demo by Rob Falcone. Pick up a copy: https://www.amazon.com/Just-ing-Demo-Tactics-Leading/dp/1505698804This week we discuss the importance of confirming your agenda before beginning your demonstration.Be sure to check out demojockeys.com for our full list of past and upcoming books, previous episodes, and more. Next month's book is The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall: https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Animal-Stories-Make-Human/dp/0544002342

Joel Benge, Principal at Message Specs, and self-described "message therapist," steps into the ring!George K and George A talk to Joel about common sales and marketing messaging mistakes, and Joel runs the first “Messaging Maze,” with on-air reviews of audience-submitted outreach emails!In this episode we get into:

Um besser oder erfolgreich zu werden, brauchst du beim Schreiben Input von außen. An wen du dich dabei wenden solltest, hängt aber stark von deinem Ziel ab. Feedback von den falschen Leuten kann dir sogar schaden. Ich dieser Folge gebe ich die Tipps, von dem du dir Feedback einholen kannst. Je nachdem, ob du dich einfach besser fühlen, besser schreiben oder erfolgreich sein möchtest.Links, die ich heute erwähnt habe:- Schreibwettbewerb "Meinungsfreiheit": https://3oktober.org/schreibwettbewerb/- Tribut-Rede von Neil Gaiman für Terry Pratchett: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04s6hvdMeine Infos zu Split-Brain-Studien stammen aus dem Buch "The Storytelling Animals" von Jonathan Gottschall. Er bezieht sich auf Studien von Michael GazzanigaKleine Bitte: Nimm an dieser 2-Minuten-Umfrage teil, damit ich den Podcast so gestalten kann, dass er dir beim Schreiben hilft. Win-win :-) https://forms.gle/PUqfahzqHKAWSikq5.Feedback, Wünsche und Geldgeschenke an: geschichtenmacher@posteo.de

This week on the podcast, we're exploring the power of story. Humans are storytellers. We choose the stories we tell about our lives. In every situation, we can come up with a number of ways to tell the story of it, and they're all a version of the truth. But we get to choose which version resonates the most with us, which one feels better to us, and then that informs our actions moving forward. Getting curious about the stories we tell can be an amazing form of self-care!We hope today's episode sparks some fun insights for you and we invite you to dive deeper with our Episode Questions. Join us on Instagram or YouTube to continue the conversation and share your reflections.Let's dig deep, challenge paradigms, choose connection, and live joyfully!You can follow us on Instagram or YouTube. EPISODE QUESTIONSDownload a printable PDF of this week's questions here.Sign up here to receive each weekly PDF automatically in your email inbox.What stories are you holding on to about yourself, your partner, and your family?Where are the stories coming from? From your parents during your childhood? The outside voices of society? Somewhere else?Do you see the story in your self-talk? How else might you tell that story?How does it feel to realize that you get to craft your own stories?TRANSCRIPTPAM: Hello and welcome to the Living Joyfully Podcast. We are very happy you're here exploring relationships with us, who we are in them, out of them, and what that means for how we move through the world.And in today's episode, we are going to talk about stories, both the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we assign to other people, meaning what we think they're thinking. And yes, it can get very messy.Now, this episode is a bit longer than usual, but we think it's worth it. Stories are intricately woven into our relationships with the people that we love, and that's because humans are storytelling animals. It's how we make sense of our world. In the book The Storytelling Animal, How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall, he wrote, "Story is for a human as water is for a fish - all encompassing and not quite palpable." I love that so much, because story truly is everywhere. And the language we choose makes a profound difference, because the stories we tell ourselves become our self-talk. That is why we want to be intentional about the language that we're using.And what's really fascinating is that for pretty much any situation, we can come up with a number of ways to tell the story of it and they can all make sense and all could truthfully tell the story of that situation. And the thing to realize is, we get to choose which one resonates most and feels better to us, which then informs our actions moving forward, which calls back to our conversation in episode seven about how every moment is a choice. Stories and choice are woven together so well, aren't they?ANNA: Oh my gosh. So much. For me, truly understanding the role of story has been so pivotal. That awareness allowed me to step back and observe, so, where's this story coming from? Does it feel real to me and who I am in this moment? Is it serving me? And if I've held onto it for a long time, why? Why have I held onto that story? And who would I be without it? That's one I love to think about. Who would I be? What would it feel like?Because there's an energetic feeling to that. What do I feel without this story that I'm telling about myself or these people in my life? And those questions really can only come about once you take off the veil and realize that everything is a story. Then I get to dive in and have these questions. And through the questioning, I can hone in on what is really working for me.And then I can start to change my story to be more reflective of me as the person I am now, the person I want to be moving forward. And I could see the role of story more clearly and use it as a tool instead of being held hostage by it, which is kind of how it felt before.And for me, like you said, language is such a big piece of that. I try to be so intentional about my language that I use, whether I'm defining some kind of big event or a very simple task in front of me, because in that language is choice. I'm developing the story that informs my day and tells others who I am. And so, that piece is so critical to me, just seeing it for what it is. And then, how do I want to create my narrative? What language do I want to use to describe it? I like thinking about it. PAM: Yeah. And once you see the scope of it, it's incredible, because it's not only the stories that we're telling ourselves, but it's understanding that the stories we're telling others about ourselves and about our lives is the picture that they're going to draw from. That's where they're going to meet us.So, first, let's look at our self-talk, at our inner voice. Sometimes we don't think we have control over our self-talk. It just appears in our head, the words over and over and over when we're spiraling over something, right? But we truly can change that over time as we make intentional changes to the language that we use and the stories we tell ourselves.It is worth taking the time to listen to our self-talk a bit more objectively, to just ask ourselves, is this a helpful story for me?ANNA: Right, because we have the self-talk, and we don't think we can change it. I think that's something I believed when I was younger. It's hard to change or we're given this story that it's hard, but I think we may assign it more importance than perhaps serves us. So, I love the idea of really diving into that, because self-talk is just an aspect of our story. It's no different. It's no more powerful. And it's not this boogeyman that it's kind of made out to be.And sometimes our self-talk is the stories that have been handed to us, perhaps by our parents or past relationships. And what's so important there is to realize that the stories they told, even if the story is about us, is their story. It's not ours and we don't have to take it in and own it. It's about them, where they were at the time, the stories that perhaps they were handed.And so, that's the thing, right? We can just keep continuing to hand down these same stories or we can take control of our own narrative. We can look at who we really are and what's actually in front of us, and then write a story that lifts us up, because that helps us be the person that we want to be and it will inform our next steps in a given situation. And I think that's what's so important about it. That's how insidious stories are. When we carry these stories from someone else, they change our energy and then they inform our next steps, and it keeps us on this same narrow path.But at any moment, we can take back the reins. We can examine the stories that we're clinging to and we can make choices because yes, Pam, it's always about choices with me. We're going to keep bringing that up.PAM: Yes. Definitely. I love the point about realizing that the stories other people are telling about us, especially the stories we grew up with, are just somebody else's perspective. It's their story. So, maybe we've absorbed the story that we're too sensitive, or we're scared to try new things, or we're very shy. That isn't our story. It's their story about us. And we get to choose our own story.Speaking of, it's also helpful to realize that goes both ways. So, for example, take a moment to consider the stories we're telling our partner about our day. Maybe we're more likely to take it as an opportunity to vent. "I am so tired," or, "So many things went wrong today." Is that what I want to convey? What will their view of my day look like from my story? Maybe that I'm so tired because I was busy having fun playing with the kids, or deep in the flow of working on a favorite project or knocking a bunch of those tasks off my to-do list.Maybe more things unusual went wrong today precisely because I was working a to-do list that was filled with those iffy jobs, and I got them done in the end. But how will they see my day through my venting words? Probably not as the ultimately satisfying day that I saw. So, understanding that the stories I tell, big and small, live on in the world reminds me to be more intentional. Now that doesn't mean not venting, but maybe prefacing it with a quick qualifier. Like, "My day was great. I just want to vent about a couple of things."It means considering who I'm speaking with and choosing my language to better convey the meaning of my story. Is what I'm saying true? Is it how I want to be seen by others? What do I need or want from the conversation? Because stories are the lifeblood of communication.ANNA: Yes. And I think it's interesting, too, thinking about that. What do I want to get from this story? Because if we do come at our partner with all the things that have happened in the day and then they come back trying to solve things and really we're like, "Wait a minute, it's just a story we're telling about how we had these tough things," you know? So, keep all that in mind. It's the lifeblood of communication. I don't think that's an overstatement. I think that's really so true.And so, keeping in mind that others will see our story through their lens, what they know, and that's okay. Understanding that helps us put their comments or reactions into perspective as well. Back to everyone is different. We see and experience the world differently.PAM: Yes. And that is absolutely a wonderful thing. We have control over our stories and what pieces we choose to share and how we choose to share. Understanding that other people come to conversations with their lens, too, so, not expecting them to fully understand what it looks like through our eyes and not even expecting them to even be curious to understand. We can't control where they are on their journey.Now, I also want to talk about the stories that we assign to other people, because so often we tend to assume the worst story. For myself and many others that I've spoken with, when we're feeling disconnected from someone or they react negatively to something we've said or done, the story we immediately tell ourselves is that we did something wrong, but often that really isn't true.It's so helpful to remember that, when we're thinking about what someone else is thinking, that is a story that we're making up. No matter how well we know them, we still don't know for sure. So don't assume that the first story that we jump to is the same story that they see. ANNA: Yes. So often, we find ourselves putting words into people's heads, and we will actually play out the scenarios till the end without the other person involved at all. "They're upset with me. I did something wrong. They don't like what I'm doing," whatever the words were saying. Even, "They're trying to hurt me. Their actions are intentional towards me." So often, we get that very wrong. We really don't know what's happening in another person's head.I have a friend that will honestly just create entire movies and the challenge with that is, it doesn't leave room for anything else. Once you've created a story for someone, you start acting from that place with that energy. So, if you've ever had one of those dreams where it's so real, your partner has done something terrible and really upset you, and you wake up and you're still super mad and they're going like, "What is happening? I just woke up. I don't know what you're talking about!"But it's the same when we create a story. We can buy into that energy and bring that energy to the person and they have no idea where it's coming from. But instead, if we can first assume positive intent, second, we can ask questions and leave space and remain open, then the person's free to share what they're actually feeling. And so often, it does not come close to the stories that we're making up.So, I have a friend and a while back, she shared a story and she didn't share it as a story. She shared it as a fact. She said that her husband didn't find her attractive. And she said, "He actively avoids even touching me when we walk each other past each other in the hall." And I was like, "Oh, wow. Have you talked to him about that?" And she was like, "Well, no." And then when she did, she found the complete opposite was true. He was trying to be respectful of her space. So, he felt by moving aside in the hall, he was showing respect for her space and honoring her.And so, then they had this conversation around what would feel good to each other and how they want to move forward. And it's very different now. But she had been telling that story for years and he had no idea. That's just how insidious these stories are. And I think it's just really worth examining the stories that we put on others, even when we feel it's justified, even if we think we know them so well, even if we've held onto these stories for years. Conversations are so important. Being open and curious. Leave space for people to tell us who they are. Pre-writing a detailed story does not.You can feel that closed energy when you come in with this pre-populated story and it's so disconnecting. Even some light inquiry can shed light on what's really going on and give space for each person to share their perspective. And then we can understand where the communication broke down in the first place and why maybe we're seeing it differently, but that won't happen if we stay in our head creating stories. That will only happen with that choice of connection and that choice to have some conversations.PAM: Yeah, sometimes I can get stuck in a really negative story about someone else, and I just don't feel confident enough to ask about it yet or bring it up. But when that happens, I found it helpful to just remind myself that it's a story and then start to play with that. How else might this story go? What about this? Does that fit? Maybe this? So, once I think of a few other things, even if they seem outlandish to me right now, I realize that there isn't just one possible story. It wasn't just the one thing that I was clinging to and being upset about. That lightens things up for me.And usually, when I'm feeling lighter, now I can get curious. Which one is it? I want to know now. And then usually I can get to the space, the energy, where it doesn't feel so heavy and I can actually bring up the conversation with them. I can actually go, "Hey, what about this? What did that feel like to you?"On the flip side, moving through that process over and over helped me realize that I really don't know what's going on in another person's life that has led them to make whatever choice it is that they made. That's their story, their truth. That's been a very helpful discovery on my journey around stories, just that realization that these are stories. My story, their story, it's their truth in the moment. And that is just enough. I can be curious then. It reminds me that there are multiple ways that things can go.ANNA: Right. And there are just always more layers, I think, to peel back on our stories, which kind of leads nicely to this last bit we wanted to talk about. We get to choose the stories we tell. And we touched on this back a bit back in the choices episode, but I want to bring it up again. We choose the stories we tell about the big things like our childhood and the little things like the grocery store. And in every situation, there are things that are easier and harder, that work or don't work. But we can choose to focus on those aspects that make sense and feel better to us.For any situation, we can come up with a number of ways to tell the story of it, and they all make sense in the context of the activity, the situation, the people involved, and they can all truthfully tell the story. But now, we get to choose which one resonates the most with us, which one feels better to us, which then informs our actions moving forward. That's the power of story. PAM: Right. Especially in more challenging situations, it's so valuable to take a moment to not just jump in with the first story that comes to mind, which is usually fear-based. And it's usually the worst one, the worst interpretation of things. And if we just stick with that one, we can get tunnel vision and start spiraling downward in our fears. We can get really stuck there if we only see this one worst interpretation of the situation in front.So, instead, take that moment to come up with a few more stories that align with the situation. If we don't take the time to consider other stories, we're not really making a meaningful choice moving forward, are we? You can't choose between one thing. And choosing more positive stories, ones that feel better to us, isn't about avoiding the truth, because the different stories all incorporate the facts. But for me, choosing the more positive story is really a form of self-care.Instead of telling myself over and over the versions that make me feel bad, that weigh me down, that pull me into that tunnel vision, I can tell myself the versions of the story that both make sense and feel better. Because from there, I'm in a more open and curious and receptive mindset, a place where I can now see more opportunities. I can be more creative in choosing my next step and my next moment is truly better. And I find myself then starting to spiral upwards, moving through it, rather than spiraling down and crashing and just feeling crushed.ANNA: And getting stuck! So, my oldest daughter and I talked about this so many times over the years, because she is a master storyteller. And, I mean, it's a gift. It is a gift that she has and it is amazing. But sometimes, it gets the better of her, because sometimes she can spin this really intricate story about someone else or about a situation, and it ends up making her feel terrible. But in the end, it's just a story. We're making it up in our heads.And I think once I realized that, I decided, if I'm going to make up a story, I'm going to make up a story that feels good, one that helps me feel connected, that helps me move forward as the person I want to be, which is exactly what you're talking about.So, I want to examine if my story spirals me into a place of being stuck, or if my story is lifting me. I may not understand all the pieces, but I can feel okay about the situation if I look at it this way, and that helps me move forward as the person I want to be. And like we've talked about before, there are situations sometimes where I can get some clarifying information so that I can get a more accurate picture, because maybe there's someone else involved and I can stop putting words in their mouth and actually figure it out.But other times, like you said, it really isn't even possible. When it's not possible, I just always want to choose the story that feels better, because it's just as likely to be true as the one that doesn't. And so, I'm just wasting the time in this moment feeling bad about something when I really don't even know the full story. And so, that's why I love that you tied it into self-care, because that's exactly what it is. It really is just this intentional choice to look at what's in front of me and find a story that feels good.And again, it's not about pushing the other things aside. It's not about pretending that things didn't happen or changing the story. It's just intentionally using language that makes me feel good about what's happening around me. So, for me, if it's a particularly challenging or difficult situation, it's not about pretending that the difficult situation didn't happen, but I look for, how have I moved through it? Look at the amazing support I've received from the people around me. Look at how loved I am because they've helped me through this situation. Look at what I've learned about myself from it.Whatever the situation, I can always find a way to frame it to use what can be a challenging situation to make myself feel better and to move forward from there. And so, that's also an empowerment piece, knowing that I can turn these situations that can completely derail me into situations that just boost me forward and allow me to be around the people that I love and to connect with the people that lift me up.PAM: Yes. And another layer that I think would be helpful for people to peel back, and I am still peeling this layer back, but, why is our tendency to take on that weight? Why does it feel like the more positive spin or the silver lining is it cheat? It really is not. And we can do that work to peel back those layers and to realize that these are all stories, they are all versions of the truth. They could absolutely all be true.ANNA: And I think this part is related to the stories handed to us by society. Things like, life is suffering. Only hard work pays off. Relationships are hard. And so, when you find this cheat, you're like, "Wait a minute. Maybe it doesn't have to be this hard. Maybe I can be enjoying it," but then you might try to stop yourself. Like, "What? But we've been told that forever!"But no, set that aside, because we don't have to make situations more difficult. There's going to be plenty of things in life to work through, but when you can find joy, when you can switch that focus, see the light, find the gifts in the situation, life is just so much more enjoyable. But we do have to shed some of those stories from society, some of those stories from even other people in our lives, in order to create what feels good for us.PAM: Yeah, I love that. I mean, "Life is hard." Don't we hear that all the time? But then, if we tell a different story, the reaction can often be like, "Well, you're a Pollyanna. You're not seeing the truth." Another story. Right? It is just so useful to work through all of that.Now, you and I have both heard, "You guys are always so positive," and people think it's weird at first, which is okay, because it's part of the process of peeling back those layers and understanding that our stories are ours to tell and there's more than one way to tell the story. We don't always have to take the negative, life-is-hard bent on it. ANNA: Right. And the reason I'm telling the story is for me. It's not to put on a show or make anything look different for somebody else from the outside. It's because it helps me be the person I want to be.It helps me in my relationships. I remember one time somebody said to me, "I get it now. I get that you're not just a Pollyanna about life. It's that it helps you have these relationships. It helps you move through these situations." And I'm like, "Yes, that's absolutely it." I'm not thinking about anybody else's reaction to me choosing joy or finding light in a moment, because that's my internal work.Now, I'm understanding that it can come across that way as people are listening to it, but I'm like, "Oh, no, no, no. This is just a tool." It's a tool that helps me connect with people. It helps me move through my days in a way that feels better to me. And it's just a choice. And I think if somebody wants to play around with it, they can see how it feels for them, too.PAM: Exactly. Exactly. And I find it helps me be more creative. It helps me come up with more possibilities. And that's the thing. You can try it out for a while and you see how it goes. And I do suspect you'll start to see things that wouldn't have happened in the other mindset.ANNA: Yeah, it's really true. And I do think it's so interesting and we definitely get feedback about that.I mean, I definitely get that. "You're always looking on the bright side!" And I'm like, I feel all the things, but it's just, again, those stories we create, it impacts how we move forward. It impacts how we see all the things around us.So, let's talk about some questions you might want to ponder for this week as you explore the idea of stories. First, what story are you holding onto about yourself, your partner, and your family? And that's a lot. So, that one may take a few minutes, because we have stories that have been handed us from childhood and on. So, there's a lot of stories there.Where are the stories coming from, from your parents during childhood, from outside voices of society, somewhere else? Identifying where, I think, is so key to realizing and taking your power back there, to realize, I don't need to own their story. That story's not about me at all.And so, do you see the story in your self-talk and how else might you tell that story? Self-talk again, it's kind of this bugaboo that we're unsure about. How do we change it? But I think the first step, don't you think, is just identifying it, just recognizing it as a story.PAM: Yes. Recognizing it as a story and, like in the previous question, where did that story come from? Is it really my story or is it something that I've absorbed over the years? It's someone else's view that I've adopted because they can really feel like that's our story, That's our self-talk, because we should be more productive, we should be efficient. "I should be able to do this quickly," or, "I shouldn't be so sensitive." There are just so many stories that we've absorbed over time that are really somebody else's view. And to check in and start asking ourselves and see, well, does that make sense to me? Do I feel sensitive all the time? What's wrong with being sensitive? There are just so many questions and layers do with that.ANNA: And you know I love, who would I be without that story? So, feel that. Who would I be without telling that story about I'm so sensitive or I can't get anything done whatever the thing is that people have handed to us. So, yeah, so interesting.And finally, how does it feel to realize that you get to craft your own story? And so, I think it, I think that may take a minute, because it's just realizing, Okay, do I get to write it? Because I think, again, some people think it's a cheat. But it's like, no, you really do. You really get to pick the things that you like and craft that as your own personal story, even when there's tragedy, even when there are bad things that have happened. There are things to look at that we can just say, yeah, but this is who I want to be and this is how I went through those tough times, and this is what was surrounding me during that. And so, that we can hold onto that part of the story as well.PAM: Yeah, and I think that's one of the big things that I want to share with people is that these are true moments. This isn't stuff that we're making up. We're not saying, ignore all this hard stuff that's going on around you.It's, as you said, a tool that can be helpful in moving through those seasons, moving through those emergency moments, all those pieces. For me, it is so incredibly helpful for me to move out of that fight or flight tunnel, which can be super helpful in the moment. But we get stuck there so easily. This is a tool that really helps me move through that. I just find it's become such a useful tool, because I know I'm more creative on the other side. I move through things with more grace and just more compassion and kindness for other people that are involved when I can help myself with this tool move beyond that tunnel vision and the that whole fight flight emergency response when things go wrong. That's helped me.ANNA: It will be fun to see what people bring up about stories. So, thank you so much for listening and we hope to see you next time. So, take care. Bye-bye.PAM: Bye, everyone.

Gianluca Gatta ha letto questa settimana L'ISTINTO DI NARRARE di Jonathan Gottschall, un saggio che ci mostra come le storie siano il collante della vita sociale umana e come, proprio attraverso la narrazione di storie, siamo riusciti ad evolvere come specie e a distinguerci dagli altri animali.

Valentina Gasparet"Pordenonelegge"https://www.pordenonelegge.it/I libri come chiave per leggere il mondo, nell'anno che scardina gli scenari di pace del continente europeo: pordenonelegge trova ispirazione in un'esperienza centrale per i popoli europei, la riconquista della democrazia attraverso la Rivoluzione di velluto dell' 89, grazie alla generazione di scrittori, poeti, filosofi, donne e uomini di pensiero capaci di rivendicare la libertà per il loro popolo. La cultura può migliorare il mondo, e un “ponte” di libri fra Pordenone e Praga scandirà oggi gli eventi inaugurali di pordenonelegge: alle 18.30 al Teatro Verdi di Pordenone, il Dialogo sul presente, sull'orlo dell'Europa, protagoniste la scrittrice ceca Radka Denemarková e la scrittrice italiana Silvia Avallone, intervistate di Alessandro Catalano. Due voci a confronto, due Paesi che si sono trovati molte volte e ancora oggi si ritrovano sul confine ideologico e politico che definisce l'Europa. Prima della conversazione è prevista l'inaugurazione ufficiale della 23^ edizione di pordenonelegge: con il Presidente di Fondazione Pordenonelegge Michelangelo Agrusti interverranno il Presidente della Regione autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia Massimiliano Fedriga e il sindaco di Pordenone Alessandro Ciriani, insieme al Console Onorario della Repubblica Ceca Paolo Petiziol.Alle 21, a Trieste nella Sala Ridotto del Teatro Verdi, si prosegue con il dialogo che impegnerà gli scrittori Josef Pánek e Mauro Covacich sul filo rosso Con il corpo qui, con la mente ovunque. Conduce la conversazione la curatrice di pordenonelegge Valentina Gasparet. E sempre alle 21, sulla Terrazza a Mare di Lignano Sabbiadoro riflettori sul dialogo Alla ricerca di storie vere: il curatore di pordenonelegge Alberto Garlini intervista Markéta Pilátová e Matteo Bussola, accomunati dalla ricerca di storie vere e originali, che si tratti di scavare negli archivi o nel profondo di se stessi.Pordenonelegge si proietterà quest'anno nell'attualità più viva, con la spiga di grano sulla sua immagine e un focus Ucraina che ospiterà lo scrittore Aleksej Nikitin in collegamento da Kiev e l'anteprima dell'antologia “Poeti d'Ucraina” (Mondadori). Straordinario lo spaccato di autori internazionali: fra gli altri i tre Premi Pulitzer Joshua Cohen, Jericho Brown e Jhumpa Lahiri cui va la 15^ edizione del Premio Crédit Agricole Friuladria La storia in un romanzo, il National Book Award Jason Mott, e Jeffery Deaver, Olivier Norek, Frans De Waal, Jonathan Gottschall, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Thomas Gunzig, William Dalrlymple, Elisabeth Asbrink, Aleksej Nikitin, Olivier Sibony, Miguel Benasayag, Frank Westerman.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEAscoltare fa Pensarehttps://ilpostodelleparole.it/

In this interview I chat with Dr. Jonathan Gottschall about his path from literature professor to cage-fighter. We also talk about the history of male violence in culture and throughout history, dueling and honor cultures, toxic masculinity, and what MMA says about present society and the human condition. Here is more info on Jonathan and his various works: https://www.jonathangottschall.com/Jonathan is a Distinguished Fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College. His writing at the intersection of science and art has been covered in-depth by The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Oprah Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Science, Nature, and on shows like Radiolab, Morning Edition, National Geographic's StarTalk with Neal de Grasse Tyson, and The Joe Rogan Experience. Jonathan is the author or editor of eight books, including The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (Houghton 2012), The Professor in the Cage: Why Men Fight and Why We Like to Watch (Penguin 2015), and The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears them Down (Basic Books, November 2021), which is a about the dark side of humanity's storytelling instincts. 

Certain story templates are more effective when it comes to attracting more clients and generating more sales. Is it because they create more intense conflict?  The surprising answer is, "No." In his book, Story Paradox, Author Jonathan Gottschall reveals a stunning fact: the higher the level of poetic justice on a TV show, the higher it performs in the ratings.  In this episode of Strategic Storytelling, you'll discover the real reason these stories work...and you'll be able to apply these insights to your own business.    Jonathan Gottschall's book, The Story Paradox explores the darker side of storytelling. My ebook, Grow Your Business One Story At A Time, explains how to use storytelling purposefully for business growth.  Visit my website for more resources.   … 

Today's guests are biologist and environmentalist, Dr. Roger Payne, and literary scholar and author, Jonathan Gottschall! This is our exciting final episode before we go on a hiatus to reflect on and pursue all the wonderful insights and ideas we've gained from a year of lightning bugs. This show's central topic has been creativity, and this episode is meant to highlight how art is what is most needed right now. On this episode, we talk about the impact of a good story, what it takes for art to create change, and how to bridge the divide while also being specific and poignant. We reflect on what works in the past have inspired change and how some modern “political” works could be adjusted to have more impact and speak to issues in an approach that everyone can digest and take to heart. You can submit your questions to Ben here: https://www.speakpipe.com/BenFolds And check out the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ix6szTyjg3vmx1sIj-Vfw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This series is sponsored by our friend, Danny Turkel. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to author Bruce Feiler about family narratives.Bruce has authored many books and articles, including longtime 18Forty favorite, The Stories that Bind Us, which argues that resilience in families is built by developing a strong family narrative. - Does The Stories that Bind Us deliberately have a Pesach theme? - What are the mistakes that people make in family dinner conversation? - Are there differences in the ways that we cope with different types of life transitions?Tune in to hear a conversation about Pesach and building family narratives.Interview begins at 16:27.Bruce is an American author of 15 books. Bruce's book The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More is a moving exploration of the ways different families have built healthy homes. Bruce writes the "This Life" column in the New York Times and the PBS miniseries Walking the Bible and Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler. His powerful article “The Stories That Bind Us,” in which Bruce explores the non-linear narratives of families from many different walks of life, was an early inspiration for 18Forty's series on Intergenerational Divergence. Bruce joins us to discuss the stories that families tell.References:Shel Ma'alah, Shel Matah: Seders Ideal and Real by Joanna SamuelsBelieve In Your Own Seder by Rabbi Judah Mischel Just One - The NCSY HaggadahHaggadah Encyclopedia TalmudicThe Mesivta HaggadahThe Stories that Bind Us by Bruce FeilerSin-a-gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought by David BashevkinLife Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age by Bruce FeilerWalking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce FeilerThe Do-You-Know Scale by Marshall Duke and Robyn FivushThe Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce FeilerAbraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce FeilerThe Council of Dads by Bruce FeilerThe Nonlinear Life NewsletterThe Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall

LARRY KOPALD, Co-Founder and President of THE CARBON UNDERGROUND, wants you to know that to successfully confront the climate crisis, it's not enough to reduce or even halt carbon emissions. We also need to draw down accumulated carbon from the atmosphere. Nothing does that better or more simply than Regenerative Agriculture, by rebuilding soil organic matter. I don't like talking about “the environment” as some separate entity out there. Our deepest goals in life must include a healthy relationship with the rest of nature and effective response to the climate crisis. Regenerative Agriculture and the work of The Carbon Underground offer a pathway to both. ------------------- To learn more: jonathangottschall.com “Change the story to change the world.” If the story actually has that power - and I believe it does - then it can change for better or worse. In his new book, THE STORY PARADOX, JONATHAN GOTTSCHALL declares storytelling the best method we've ever devised for manipulating each other by circumventing rational thought. As new technologies amplify the effects of disinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and fake news, he calls on us to stop asking, “How can we change the world through stories?” and start asking - before it's too late - “How can we save the world from stories?”

"Human beings can no more give up narrative than we can breathing or sleeping." So says my guest Jonathan Gottschall. But why are stories so important? He argues in his new book The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears them Down that the primary function of storytelling is to sway the listener in some way, to change how they think or fell about something, or someone. "Stories", he says "are influence machines". Part of the political divide today, for example, is over the story of America: Are we a city on the hill, a beacon of liberty and hope and progress, or an oppressive, supremacist and bloody empire? In a deep sense, the culture war is a story war, and in light of recent political developments, Gottschall says our task is now "to save the world from stories", in part by trying to tell stories without villains. Along the way we talk about the difference between suspension of disbelief and narrative transportation, politics, the role of religion, luck, and the lack of political pluralism in academia. I came away even more convinced about the power of stories, and our decisions about which stories to immerse ourselves in, as well as how stories layer on top of stories, in a kind of narrative collage.  Jonathan Gottschall Distinguished Fellow at Washington & Jefferson College, author of The Storytelling Animal, The Professor in the Cage, and The Story Paradox.  Twitter: @jonathangottsch Website: jonathangottschall.com    

Jonathan Gottschall is a distinguished research fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College and is the author of The Storytelling Animal, a New York TimesEditor's Choice and finality for the LA Times Book Prize, and The Professor in the Cage, one of the Boston Globe's Best Books of the year, as well as his latest release, The Story Paradox. He has written for or been covered in the New York Times, Scientific American, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Millions. Gottschall has also appeared on popular podcasts like Star Talk, The Joe Rogan Experience, and Radiolab. He lives in Pennsylvania.

“Change the story to change the world.” If story actually has that power - and I believe it does - then it can change for better or worse. In his new book, THE STORY PARADOX, JONATHAN GOTTSCHALL declares storytelling the best method we've ever devised for manipulating each other by circumventing rational thought. As new technologies amplify the effects of disinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and fake news, he calls on us to stop asking, “How can we change the world through stories?” and start asking - before it's too late - “How can we save the world from stories?”

Jonathan Gottschall, a distinguished fellow at Washington & Jefferson College, has researched storytelling and its unique power to inspire. But as he spoke at business conferences and grew aware of the popularity of storytelling in the corporate world, he came to realize just how much stories can also manipulate and destroy. From addressing climate change to the Theranos scandal, he explains the ins and outs of stories and argues for establishing a culture of honest storytelling in business. Gottschall is the author of the book "The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears them Down".

Storytelling, writes my guest Jonathan Gottschall, is the way in which people have for thousands of years not only bound themselves together into communities, but the art which built civilization. But story-telling is also the best way of forcing people apart, for manipulating one another, for destroying the capacity to think rationally. Behind our greatest ills, he argues, are mind-disordering stories. This naturally has implications for how we tell stories about the past. Jonathan Gottschall is distinguished research fellow in the English department at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania. He is the author most recently of The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Stories Builds Societies and Tears Them Down, which is the focus of our conversation today.

Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it. In The Story Paradox, Gottschall explores how a broad consortium of psychologists, communications specialists, neuroscientists, and literary quants are using the scientific method to study how stories affect our brains. In this conversation based on his new book, Gottschall reveals why our biggest asset has become our greatest threat, and what, if anything, can be done. It is a call to stop asking, “How we can change the world through stories?” and start asking, “How can we save the world from stories?”

When a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym opens across the street from his office, Jonathan Gottschall sees a challenge. Pushing forty, out of shape, and disenchanted with his job as an adjunct English professor, he works up his nerve and finds himself training for an all-out cage fight. He sees it not just as a personal test, but also as an opportunity to answer questions that have intrigued him for years: Why do men fight? Baz chats to Jonathan about his journey, his books and his cage fight!You can find more about Jonathan Gottschall and his books here https://www.jonathangottschall.com/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's episode of The Literary Life podcast, Angelina, Cindy and Thomas share a wrap up of their year in reading–their favorite books of the year, their most hated books read in 2021, and how they each did with covering the categories of the #LitLife192021 Reading Challenge. They also talk a little about how they will be approaching their reading for next year. Download the Two for '22 adult reading challenge PDF here, and the kids' reading challenge PDF here. The Literary Life Commonplace Books published by Blue Sky Daisies are back with new covers for 2022! Also, check out the Christmas sale at HouseofHumaneLetters.com! Coming up on The Literary Life podcast in the new year, we have Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream coming up in January and after that, Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis. Then we will be reading The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim and Charles Dickens' Hard Times later in the year. Our children's classic novel this year will be The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Commonplace Quotes: Literature's world is a concrete human world of immediate experience. The poet uses images and objects and sensations much more than he uses abstract ideas. The novelist is concerned with telling stories, not with working out arguments. Northrop Frye The moon is the only one of the heavenly bodies that, whilst rising resplendently like the other luminaries, nevertheless changes and waxes and wanes as we do. Malcolm Guite I almost think that the same skin For one without has two or three within. Lord Byron, from “Don Juan” The Poetry of Shakespeare by George Meredith Picture some Isle smiling green ‘mid the white-foaming ocean; – Full of old woods, leafy wisdoms, and frolicsome fays; Passions and pageants; sweet love singing bird-like above it; Life in all shapes, aims, and fates, is there warm'd by one great human heart. Book List: Hallelujah: Cultivating Advent Traditions with Handel's Messiah by Cindy Rollins The Educated Imagination by Northrup Frye Faith, Hope, and Poetry by Malcolm Guite David's Crown by Malcolm Guite Savior of the World by Charlotte Mason The Mirror Cracked from Side to Side by Agatha Christie Anthony Horowitz Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson Wintering by Katherine May The Narnian by Alan Jacobs In the Year of Our Lord 1943 by Alan Jacobs Elizabeth Goudge Assignment in Brittany by Helen Macinnes Look Back with Love by Dodie Smith The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley The Atonement by Ian McEwan Desmond MacCarthay David Cecil Letters by a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens Ann Veronica by H. G. Wells The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell The Odd Women by George Gissing Excellent Women by Barbara Pym If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley Corsets and Codpieces by Karen Bowman *The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall (not recommended) *Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics by Stephen Greenblatt (not recommended) MacBeth by William Shakespeare As the Indians Left It by Robert Sparks Walker Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset Lady Susan by Jane Austen Tolkien and the Great War by John Garth A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and A World War by Joseph Laconte Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Neil Gaiman The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham Mythos by Stephen Fry Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

What is as ubiquitous as air, water, and earth, but possibly more potent than all three? It's a story. The human brain, while swept up in the forcefield of stories, is enthralled, molded and shaped by it, but is also readily deceived by the artful embellishments by powerful story-tellers, including an unreliable narrator within. Our daily consumption of narratives presented in the form of news clips, Tiktok clips, social media posts, novella, novels, plays, or films capture our imagination while shaping our beliefs, ideas, and even our ideology.  While stories may feel like all they do is carve a path through the landscapes of make-believe, they are far more powerful and integral to our ability to navigate life's complex social-interpersonal conflicts and unimagined or unimaginable human experiences.On today's podcast, Distinguished Fellow in the English Department at Washington and Jefferson College and an author whose writing is at the intersection of science and art, and whose work has been covered in-depth by publications including Science, Nature, Scientific American, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Oprah Magazine, Jonathan Gottschall, discusses how and why storytelling has evolved as a means to ensuring our survival. Since Executive Function skills allow us to manage our life, our goals, and our actions while tuning out unsavory emotions and amping-up motivation or grit, it might be good to think about the role stories play in tackling mental rigidity and emotional inflexibility that challenges and chaos invoke.About Jonathan GottschallPraised by Steven Pinker as “our deepest thinker about the powerful role of stories in our lives,” Jonathan Gottschall is a Distinguished Fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College. His writing at the intersection of science and art has been covered in-depth by The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Oprah Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Science, Nature, and on shows like Radiolab, Morning Edition, National Geographic's StarTalk with Neal de Grasse Tyson, and The Joe Rogan Experience. Jonathan is the author or editor of eight books, including The Professor in the Cage: Why Men Fight and Why We Like to Watch (Penguin 2015), The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (Houghton 2012), and The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears them Down (Basic Books, November 2021), which is a about the dark side of humanity's storytelling instincts.  Website: http://www.jonathangottschall.comBooks: The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears them DownThe Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us HumanThe Professor in the Cage: Why Men Fight and Why We Like to WatchAbout Host, Sucheta KamathSucheta Kamath, is an award-winning speech-language pathologist, a TEDx speaker, a celebrated community leader, and the founder and CEO of ExQ®. As an EdTech entrepreneur, Sucheta has designed ExQ's personalized digital learning curriculum/tool that empowers middle and high school students to develop self-awareness and strategic thinking skills through the mastery of Executive Function and social-emotional competence.Support the show (https://mailchi.mp/7c848462e96f/full-prefrontal-sign-up)

On this episode, Harry and Philip begin a month-long exploration of myth & politics. First up for discussion - What is myth? What does it have to do with politics? Why is myth important? How does it work? What would life be like without it? Next week we will be taking a look at the history of American political myths and where we may be headed, so don't miss out on the start of this series! -- Links https://www.spectacles.news/birds-eye-myth-politics-one/ (To comment on this article, click here.) https://player.captivate.fm/collection/257e45ef-c253-469f-910e-af4545de085b (To listen only to other episodes of Bird's Eye, click here.) -- Further Reading (email contact@spectacles.news for any of these) “Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics,” by Alexander Wendt in International Organization. “The cultural evolution of prosocial religions,” by Ara Norenzayan et. al. in Behavioral and brain Sciences. “Erichthonius,” from Who's Who in Classical Mythology, Routledge. “Evolutionary Social Constructivism,” by David Sloan Wilson, in The Literary Animal, edited by Jonathan Gottschall and David Sloan Wilson. “Mythistory, or Truth, Myth, History, and Historians,” by William H. McNeill in Mythistory and Other Essays. Natural Right and History, by Leo Strauss. Political Myth, by Christopher Flood. “Prosociality and religion,” by Jo-Ann Tsang et. al. in Current Opinion in Psychology. Republic, by Plato, translated by Allan Bloom. -- Table of Contents 00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping 00:44 - Noble Lies 01:32 - Episode Topic Introduction 02:21 - What is myth? 06:01 - How is this relevant to politics? 07:19 - Three Examples of Political Myths 13:24 - Do myths have to be true or false? 16:43 - How important are things besides myth? 18:30 - Why do humans resort to myths? 22:06 - How do myths work, and what can they do? 25:40 - How do myths change over time? 29:05 - How does myth align the individual and common goods? 33:37 - What are some disadvantages of myth? 36:36 - How does war shape myths? 37:30 - What would life be like without myths? 40:40 - Next week's topic 41:09 - Signing off

“The word ‘artist' is not applied to writers as readily as to musicians or sculptors or painters, because the medium in which they work – our language – is used by everyone without any particular thought or regard for economy or form. Language is the common drudge of every sort of experience and it does not enter the heads of most people to use it with any conscious skill or effectiveness.” “But the serious writer is an artist and language is his medium, and the way he employs it is of the greatest interest. Graham Greene has said that ‘creative art seems to remain a function of the religious mind,' and it is this quality of awareness of another world…” – Robertson Davies, The Merry Heart, p. 115 “When Cervantes invited a new generation of readers to follow his knight into the Sierra Morena, they discovered through their tears of laughter that they had entered a new world. For the writers and readers to come, the pages of a book could never again stand like foreign objects of wonder, to be admired from a distance. From now on, opening a book would mean stepping into a space more like one's own, a Sierra Morena next door instead of a mythical wood or mystic crag, and even those places of mystery or magic, from Never Never Land to Hogwarts, would always be places in which other versions of our own selves would go to for relief from the pressures, pain, or simply the boredom of our daily lives.” – William Egginton, The Man Who Invented Fiction, p. 136 “In my life as a writer I often remind myself – comfort myself – with what William Faulkner said about The Sound and the Fury. The whole novel, he claimed, hung on one image, the glimpse of a little girl's muddy underpants seen from the ground as she climbed a tree. How can an entire world spin off so small and incidental a hub? Can it be possible that Faulkner conceived his masterpiece from this thin, grubby moment?” “I imagine most writers of novels begin with such a fragment, a shard of experience so compelling, so troubling and unavoidable – always there, on the periphery of consciousness – that around it he or she must construct an elaborate world. This world, this novel, is not merely a container or a means of filing the image away but an attempt to make it comprehensible, and to guard its power.” – Kathryn Harrison, When Inspiration Stared Stoically from an Old Photograph “Fiction is usually seen as escapist entertainment… But it's hard to reconcile the escapist theory of fiction with the deep patterns we find in the art of storytelling… Our various fictional worlds are– on the whole– horrorscapes. Fiction may temporarily free us from our troubles, but it does so by ensnaring us in new sets of troubles– in imaginary worlds of struggle and stress and mortal woe.” – Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human “Go, then – there are other worlds than these.” – Stephen King If you want us to see a different world, it will be your choice of tools that defines you. Oscar Wilde was a playwright. He put his words, like a ventriloquist, into the mouths of actors on the stage. http://wizardofads.org/partners/ (Ad writers,) screenwriters and novelists differ only in their ventriloquist's dummies, the masks they hide behind. Some ventriloquist's dummies are called “newscasters,” and they are no different than the actors in any other fiction. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Who is hiding behind that mask, and what imaginary world are they trying to sell us?” Roy H. Williams PS – At a 1962 dinner for 49 Nobel laureates, President John F. Kennedy quipped that the event was, “the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” Thomas Jefferson was a famous hater of newspapers, though I...

What makes someone want to walk into a ring and hit someone? Choose to take a punch? Why men — and women — fight. And why so many of us like to watch. *Guests: * Kate Sekules, Jonathan Gottschall, Ronda Rousey, Thomas Page McBee, Charles Monroe-Kane, Steve Paulson

When a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym moves in across the street from his office, Jonathan Gottschall sees a challenge and an opportunity. Pushing 40, out of shape, and disenchanted with his job as an adjunct English professor, part of him yearns to cross the street and join up. The other part is terrified.Gottschall eventually works up his nerve and starts training for a real cage fight. He's fighting not only as a personal test but also to answer questions that have intrigued him for years: Why do men fight? And why do so many seemingly decent people like to watch? Gottschall endures extremes of pain, occasional humiliation, and the incredulity of his wife to take us into the heart of fighting culture - culminating, after almost two years of grueling training, in his own cage fight.Gottschall's unsparing personal journey crystallizes in his epiphany, and ours, that taming male violence through ritualized combat has been a hidden key to the success of the human race. Without the restraining codes of the monkey dance, the world would be a much more chaotic and dangerous place.

I was worried Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be the same this year without Uncle Alfred. Every year for as long as I can remember, when the time came for each of us to name something we were thankful for, Uncle Alfred would tell his famous Story of the Shoes. “Your mother was six and I was nine when I had to cut the ends off my shoes to let my toes stick out. A year later, I couldn't get my foot in them at all. On really cold days, I'd wrap my feet in newspaper and bind it with brown twine. I always knew where to find the twine because the newspaperman would cut the bundles apart at Ninth and Pike every morning, right in front of Boscov's Department Store. One morning in late November I was looking at a pair of shoes in the window of Boscov's when I heard a woman's voice behind me say, “A penny for your thoughts.” I turned around and there she was, holding out a penny. You could buy penny candy in those days, so I took the penny and I told her the truth, even though I was horribly embarrassed. “I was asking God for a pair of shoes.” Her face fell a little when I said that, so I thought she was disappointed in my answer and wanted her penny back, so I dropped my eyes to the ground. That's when she lifted my chin with her fingertips and smiled. “What's your name?” she asked. “Alfred,” I answered. She held open the door to Boscov's with one hand and extended the other to me, “Come inside with me Alfred.” I had never been inside Boscov's. She sat me down in the shoe department, unwrapped the newspaper from my feet, and told the clerk to bring seven pairs of socks, all the same color. She put two pairs of socks on me, then told the clerk to fit me with the finest pair of work boots that money could buy, but fit them a little loose because I was obviously a growing boy. Standing up in those new boots, I felt six feet tall. She paid the clerk, then handed me the boot box that contained the other five pairs of socks. She shook my hand and said, “Happy Thanksgiving, Alfred, and Merry Christmas.” And then she began to walk away. That's when I was surprised to hear my own quavering voice ask, “Are you God's wife?” The beautiful lady turned and smiled, “No, baby doll, I'm Mrs. McGovern.” Uncle Alfred always finished his Story of the Shoes in exactly the same way. “I never saw Mrs. McGovern again, but I'll remember her for as long as I live.” And then he would wipe the tears from his cheeks. Uncle Alfred never married and he never left Reading, Pennsylvania. But he rose through the ranks to become a railroad executive and did very well for himself. But my Uncle Alfred also did good. For every year in late November, beginning when he was 17, Alfred would purchase a substantial new pair of shoes for as many poor children as he could afford. Hundreds of children a year. And every pair would be delivered with a note that said, “A Gift from Mrs. McGovern.” And now I must break your heart. I don't have an Uncle Alfred. “We are all very good at suspending our disbelief. We do it every day, while reading novels, watching television or going to the movies. We willingly enter fictional worlds where we cheer our heroes and cry for friends we never had.” – Marco Tempest, in his 2012 TED talk “Fiction is usually seen as escapist entertainment…But it's hard to reconcile the escapist theory of fiction with the deep patterns we find in the art of storytelling… Our various fictional worlds are– on the whole– horrorscapes. Fiction may temporarily free us from our troubles, but it does so by ensnaring us in new sets of troubles– in imaginary worlds of struggle and stress and mortal woe… Fiction also seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than nonfiction, which is designed to persuade through argument and evidence. Studies show that when we read nonfiction, we read with our shields up. We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard.” – Jonathan Gottschall...

The door to immediate action is easily kicked open by the steel-toed boot of urgency.If you want people to take immediate action, you're going to need a credible shortage. A shortage of product. “Only 11 remain!” A shortage of time. “Sale ends Saturday at 6PM!” A shortage of capacity. “Only 128 seats are available!” Some kind of shortage. But smart marketers don't create a series of non-stop urgencies. Smart marketers create a bond with future customers. And you don't create a bond by crying wolf. You create a bond by telling a story. Do you want to inspire your customer? Inspirational stories are never about accumulation.They're about sacrifice.What have you sacrificed and why? Are you willing to tell that story? Scientific American published an essay on May 8, 2013, in which Jag Bhalla quotes Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind, “The human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor. Everyone loves a good story; every culture bathes its children in stories.” The purpose of these stories is to engage and educate the emotions. Stories teach us character types, plots, and the social-rule dilemmas prevalent in our culture. Stories explain how the world works and help us understand who we are.“Research consistently shows that fiction does mold us. The more deeply we are cast under a story's spell, the more potent its influence. In fact, fiction seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than nonfiction, which is designed to persuade through argument and evidence. Studies show that when we read nonfiction, we read with our shields up. We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard…” “We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories. But why are humans storytelling animals at all? Why are we, as a species, so hopelessly addicted to narratives about the fake struggles of pretend people? Anthropologists have long argued that stories have group-level benefits. Traditional tales, from hero epics to sacred myths, perform the essential work of defining group identity and reinforcing cultural values.” – Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human Stories are what shape and define a tribe.Make no mistake, people who bond with a brand are people who have joined a tribe. And that's a healthy thing. According to Professor Alison Gopnik, “other people are the most important part of our environment. In our ultra-social species, social acceptance matters as much as food.” * We include ourselves in dozens of tribes. Tribes of geography, school, sport, faith, music, nationality, art, hobby, history, family affiliation, hair color, age, gender, lifestyle, transportation, recreation, food, fashion, tattoos, facial hair and footwear. We buy what we buy to remind ourselves – and tell the world around us – who we are. Our purchases tell our story. Most ads are full of information. They don't really tell a story.Story = character + predicament + attempted extrication. “Stories the world over are almost always about people with problems,” writes Jonathan Gottschall. They display “a deep pattern of heroes confronting trouble and struggling to overcome. Stories give us feelings we don't have to pay full cost for.” Stories free us from the limits of our own direct experience and allow us to learn from the experiences of others. Online reviews are stories told by customers about their experiences. Testimonial ads are another type of story told by customers about their experiences. But we listen to these stories with a grain of suspicion as we seek to pierce the veiled motives of the storytellers. Propaganda is a story that represents itself to be the truth.We believe it only to the degree that we trust the storyteller. Entertainment is a story that doesn't represent itself to be the truth.If a story doesn't claim to

We are doing something a little different today on the Mental Game Podcast. My co-author Barry Carter is very interested student of the psychology of performance, which started with poker and has expanded significantly with the numerous books he's read on the subject. As we expand the scope of the podcast, he will be joining us occasionally to interview some interesting minds from the world of psychology. Today he interviews Jonathan Gottschall, a scholar at Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, who specializes in literature and evolution. His most recent book, “The Professor and the Cage,” follows his journey from academic to MMA fighter. Through it he explores the evolutionary psychology of fighting and bravery as he prepares to step into the Octagon himself. Barry raves about this book and believes it is a must-read for anyone wanting to learn more about masculinity, bravery and evolutionary psychology.

Jonathan Gottschall's career as a college English prof was on the rocks, and he was desperate to do something completely different. So in his late 30s he left the classroom for the cage, taking up mixed martial arts and training for an amateur bout. It was more than a mid-life escapade, though. Jonathan had some unresolved issues around bullying in his own youth, and wanted to better understand the relationship between violence and masculinity, including his own. We talked about MMA, male aggression and Jonathan's book "The Professor in the Cage: Why Men Fight and Why We Like to Watch," as well as his ill-fated stint as a literary scholar with an evolutionary bent.

It used to be easy to get lost in a good book, but now lots of people say reading is boring. Scientists say all that skimming and surfing on electronic screens is actually rewiring our brains. So we examine the new science of reading, and meet celebrated New Yorker book critic James Wood. Also, Jordanian scientist Rana Dajani tells the remarkable story of how she started a reading program for kids at her local mosque, which has spread to hundreds of libraries across the Middle East. And Princeton historian Tony Grafton uncovers the history of reading by looking in the margins of books. In our last segment, Jonathan Gottschall's dangerous idea is to remove padded gloves from combat sports to reduce the brain damage of fighters. And renowned MMA fighter Ronda Rousey describes her long, hard road to the top. Why it's Hard to Read in the Electronic Age; What Makes a Good Book Critic?; Teaching Kids to Love Books in the Middle East; Reading History from the Margins; Take Off the Gloves; The Toughest Woman in the World.

Jonathan Gottschall is an American literary scholar specializing in literature and evolution. He teaches at Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania and his latest book, The Professor in the Cage, is available now. http://jonathangottschall.com/

I've been nipping at the edges of this subject for a while on previous shows, and now I've found someone to tackle it head-on: Jonathan Gottschall, author of "The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human." Jonathan and I discussed the central place of narrative not only in art and entertainment, but in our deep understanding of the world and ourselves. With us humans, it's storytime all the time, or at least much of the time. We talked about storytelling's pervasive influence, possible evolutionary explanations, its hazards and if/how we ever escape its confines.