On Being
Conversation about the big questions of meaning in 21st century lives and endeavors — spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and the arts.
On Being episodes
Sitting Together in the Dark
Writer and photographer Teju Cole says he is “intrigued by the continuity of places, by the singing line that connects them all.” He attends to the border, overlap and interplay...
by On Being
Where Does It Hurt?
Civil rights legend Ruby Sales learned to ask “Where does it hurt?” because it’s a question that drives to the heart of the matter — and a question we scarcely know how to ask i...
by On Being
The Evolutionary Power of Children and Teenagers
learn humanity children psychology cognitive science
Alison Gopnik understands babies and children as the R&D division of humanity. From her cognitive science lab at the University of California, Berkeley, she investigates the “ev...
by On Being
Choosing Curiosity Over Fear
learn creativity curiosity fear
Her name is synonymous with her fantastically best-selling memoir Eat Pray Love. But through the disorienting process of becoming a celebrity, Elizabeth Gilbert has also reflect...
by On Being
Strong Back, Soft Front, Wild Heart
“When we’re our best selves with each other, I don’t think that’s what’s possible between people; I believe that’s what’s true between people.” A wise thinker and writer, and a ...
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How Friendship and Quiet Conversations Transformed a White Nationalist
Derek Black grew up the heir apparent of a prominent white nationalist family. David Duke was his godfather. When Derek was 11, he designed the kids’ page for what is known as t...
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Cartographer of Meaning in a Digital World
She has called Brain Pickings, her invention and labor of love, a “human-powered discovery engine for interestingness.” What Maria Popova really delivers, to hundreds of thousan...
by On Being
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The Ministry of Nostalgia and Landscapes of Communism
learn history architecture politics
A great podcast about architecture and cultural politics. Owen Hatherley writes regularly on architecture and cultural politics for Architects Journal, Architectural Review,Icon...
by Little Atoms
Bundyville
By his own account, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy never wanted to start a war with the federal government. To hear him tell the story, he is a folksy, rural Nevada rancher trying ...
Cut Loose: Your Breakup Stories
When Nan Bauer-Maglin was 60 years old, her husband left her for his 25-year-old student. "I thought about suicide. You know, there’s a great feeling of rejection especially if ...