Episodes

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: htt...

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/ The...

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.