Episodes

We often hear of utility, usually as it relates to economics or usefulness. But there is a different view of utility, one that focuses on pleasure. In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss this view of utility as pleasure, which is the foundation of Jeremey Bentham and John Stuart Mills' view of utilitarianism. They also discuss the difference between transitory, shallow pleasures (like eating yummy french fries) and enduring deep pleasures (such as being a good person). At the end of the episo...

Humans are hardwired to pay more attention to negative events than positive events. This proclivity is known as the negativity bias. Thankfully, a large number of good events can overcome the effects of a small number of bad events, which can work out well because most of us experience many more positive events than negative events. The problem is that we tend to pay more attention to the bad things that happen. In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss negativity bias and how to overcome its e...

Craig’s favorite day of the week is Saturday, not just because it’s recording day, but also because it’s #Caturday! (It really is a thing.) Fun, seemingly silly activities like posting or viewing cat pictures (or dog pics, or whatever) give us some hints on an often overlooked aspect of flourishing. In this episode, we explore why frivolous activities such as #Caturday can help us flourish by giving us short breaks from the daily grind of life. ------ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www....

Recently, a listener posed an interesting question in response to Episode 9 on Human Flourishing. In that episode we said that a hermit might be happy living alone in the woods, but that s/he wouldn't really living a flourishing life. The listener questioned whether this was accurate, especially since flourishing is unique to each individual. In this episode, we discuss the question of whether a hermit can flourish. Along the way we also delve into moral relativism, moral pluralism and even nihi...

Andrea and Craig welcome Nita Sweeney, an author, distance runner, and meditator who shares her tale of overcoming depression and anxiety through long distance running with her dog Morgan. She details the first basic steps everyone should take to start their battle against depression, getting out of bed and doing a basic self-care task such as brushing your teeth. Nita describes how at 49, being overweight and depressed she went from “couch to 5k” and how it changed her life. Another challenge N...

Many of us have a faith, but how is that different from spirituality? Is spirituality like food in the sense that we need it to care for our bodies (or in this case, our soul), something that every person by the nature of being a person has to deal with, or is it more like art and music? Spirituality, unlike religion, focuses on obtaining a sense of peace and of purpose. Andrea and Craig welcome Reverend Dr. Bernadine Lewis as she tells us a little bit about how having a spiritual dimension to ...

Music is synonymous with emotion and beauty and is a vital part of life. This week Andrea and Craig welcome musician Bryan Toney as he gives us insight on how music can help us flourish. He explains why it’s important to find your passion and how you can make music (or engage in some other creative activity) while still working another job. We also learn about some of the struggles musicians face in modern times, the hardships of the music industry nowadays and Bryan’s contributions to helping o...

In this episode Andrea and Craig welcome Sebastian Siegel, a British-American director, producer, screenwriter and author to talk about some of the themes and experiences from his new film, Grace and Grit, based on the book by Ken Wilber. They discuss the resilience of human love when faced with tragedy and loss, deep philosophical issues regarding joy, pain and transience, and even share some of their personal experiences on how they were able to relate to the film on a deeper level. Links: S...

In the first episode of season two, Andrea and Craig discuss some of the differences in how Aristotle, Dr. Martin Seligman, and Harvard view flourishing and some of the overlapping concepts in philosophy, religion, psychology and Daoism related to living a good life. Craig explains in depth how striving for flourishing is beneficial to anyone no matter what their religion or philosophy might be. We also learn about the three basic steps towards flourishing and developing a virtue and that grits ...

Andrea and Craig reflect about some key moments and concepts from season one and shine a light on what listeners can expect in season two. They discuss the Aristotelian mean, arete, virtues and many ways to live an excellent life. Stay tuned for season two to get at the heart of the psychology behind wellbeing, Ben Franklin’s method for becoming the kind of person you want to be by developing your virtues, and what it means to flourish as a human being. ------ Live Well and Flourish website: ht...

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, SnapChat … these and other social media platforms allow us to keep up with old friends and make new ones, lets us expand our knowledge and stay informed about current events, and even give rise to important social movements. But social media are addictive, manipulative and the lynchpin of the surveillance economy. Their algorithms define what it means to be social. Social media also, to paraphrase our guest, valorizes the sensational over the sober. But if...

We live in a world filled with uncertainty. Often this uncertainty leads to anxiety about the future. Fortunately, information can reduce uncertainty, and in turn, reduce anxiety. The catch is that the new information may also uncover new uncertainty, leading to increased anxiety. In this episode, we explore the seemingly paradoxical relationship among uncertainty, anxiety, and information and consider examples from daily life whether it’s checking the weather or a kitty peeking around the corne...

Sadly, we live in a world rife with fake news, misinformation, and disinformation, in what President Barack Obama called "a dust cloud of nonsense." In this episode, we talk with Dr. Amber Hinsley, a former journalist turned academic, about the problem of fake news, misinformation and disinformation, how our own beliefs affect what we see as fake or false information, and how to protect ourselves against these forces. Along the way we take some diversions into journalism, its future and the rise...

Every day we are bombarded with a barrage of information, distractions, noise and unnecessary stimuli. Our attention is a limited resource, and with a myriad things competing for it, how do we protect ourselves and safeguard our peace of mind? Andrea and Craig discuss how tuning out can help us avoid stress along with some of the best ways to tune out. Taking some time off to rest, reflect and recharge can be done in a variety of ways, from meditation, to focusing only on your breathing, to doin...

Social noise is phenomenon that concerns how the presence of others affects our social behaviors. This episode is the second in a two part series. (You probably guessed that from the "Part 2" in the title.) In this episode we discuss social noise in the context of COVID-19 with our guest, Dr. Tara Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman also offers some thoughts on how we can put what we've learned about social noise into practice. ------ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ T...

The constant presence of social media in our lives leads us to, intentionally or unintentionally, form our impressions of some people through what they post on social media. In many cases, such impressions are wrong. In a phenomenon called social noise, which describes how observation by others in our networks affects how we respond to different types of information. Dr. Tara Zimmerman, the expert who coined the term social noise, is our guest in this two part series. Dr. Zimmerman helps us dig...

"Rational" and "ignorance" are words that don't often go together, but sometimes they should. In this episode Andrea and Craig explore the concept of rational ignorance. which basically means that when the cost of acquiring information exceeds the value of that information, it's rational to remain ignorant. We also have a guest appearance from Taz! ------ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler...

Welcome to the Rational Ignorance Podcast! In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss their goals for the podcast, and what listeners can expect to gain from listening (in business speak -- the value proposition). We're new to this, so we appreciate your indulgence as we work out any problems. Thanks for listening!! Contact us at rationalignorance@pm.me, on Twitter - @RIPodcast.