KCRW's Life Examined is a one-hour weekly show exploring science, philosophy, faith — and finding meaning in the modern world. The show is hosted by Jonathan Bastian. Please tune in Saturdays at 9 a.m., or find it as a podcast.
234 Available Episodes (234 Total)Average duration: 00:44:50
Apr 17, 2024
Midweek Reset: The lesson of Costa Rica
00:03:11
This week, psychology and education professor at Columbia University, Peter Coleman explains why in turbulent times at home and across the globe, Costa Rica remains peaceful and stable. In the aftermath of bloody conflicts, Coleman says, Costa Rica intentionally chose to stop war and designed their country around that vision.
Apr 14, 2024
Laughter, leadership, and Improv: navigating the unscripted parts of your life
00:51:58
Neil Mullarkey, comedian, actor, and author of In the Moment: Build your confidence, creativity, and communication at work, shares his journey into comedy and writing and how he recognized the power of comedy at an early age. He’s toured the world, working with well-known comedians like Mike Myers, with whom he founded the Comedy Store Players in London. Mullarckey found that the skills he learned in his improv classes translated well into leadership and management.
Jennifer Chatman, Professor of Management at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, looks at the role of narcissism in leadership and why CEOs of corporations “are more likely to be narcissistic than the population at large, by about 6%.” ramani.com/">Ramani Durvasula, clinical psychologist and author of It's Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People, provides the clinical definition of narcissism. She explains how those traits can be present in others and the harm and hurt they cause. “They're so grandiose, your simple piece of feedback can spin them out into a rage,” she says.
Apr 03, 2024
Midweek Reset: Peaceful protest
00:04:00
This week, clinical psychologist and Buddhist teacher Tara Brach on activism and how easy it is to unintentionally absorb the hate and anger leveled at others. Brach suggests that rather than reacting with the same anger, try taking an additional step and move to a place of reflection, care and understanding.
Mar 31, 2024
Freud: What he said, why he matters
00:51:58
Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the author of Psyche: The Story of the Human Mind, explores the history and controversial legacy surrounding the renowned 20th century Austrian neuroscientist Sigmund Freud. Modern psychotherapy has come a long way over the last century. Many of Freud’s bizarre theories on psychosexual development and the Oedipal complex have been debunked, yet Bloom points out that in the field of psychology, “there's no figure now [who’s] anything close to Freud, either in influence or in scope.”
Mar 27, 2024
Midweek Reset: Authenticity trap
00:03:20
This week, Denis McManus, professor of philosophy at the University of Southampton reflects on authenticity and the allure of being true to ourselves and suggests that while authenticity may be having a moment, it is just one of many values we should aspire to.
Mar 24, 2024
Mapping the darkness; the science behind sleep
00:51:58
Award-winning journalist and writer Kenneth Miller delves into our long and mysterious relationship with sleep and explores the scientists who embarked on pioneering sleep research. In his book Mapping the Darkness; The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked The Mysteries of Sleep Miller posits that “for a long time, sleep was really [just] a sideline for scientists,” and sleep researchers struggled to be taken seriously in a field, which for most of the 20th century, had viewed sleep as a wasteful habit or something to be overcome.
Mar 20, 2024
Midweek Reset: When to Quit
00:03:14
This week, corporate speaker, former professional poker player and author of “Quit: The Power Of Knowing When To Walk Away, ”Annie Duke says knowing when to quit can be helpful when it comes to relationships or jobs and that fear of the unknown or being alone, shouldn’t be an excuse for inaction.
Mar 17, 2024
Splintering: When a divorce and first child arrive together
00:51:56
Acclaimed writer Leslie Jamison takes us on an intimate and honest personal journey, navigating the devastating collapse of her marriage and the joy of becoming a mother for the first time. In her latest memoir, Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, she recounts her relationships with men, her parents, her child, and herself, drawing on her own lived experiences in order “to ask about what it feels like to be alive.”
Apr 17 | 00:03:11
Midweek Reset: The lesson of Costa Rica
Apr 14 | 00:51:58
Laughter, leadership, and Improv: navigating the unscripted parts of your life
Apr 10 | 00:03:02
Midweek Reset: Mood follows action
Apr 07 | 00:51:58
Are you in a relationship with a narcissist?
Apr 03 | 00:04:00
Midweek Reset: Peaceful protest
Mar 31 | 00:51:58
Freud: What he said, why he matters
Mar 27 | 00:03:20
Midweek Reset: Authenticity trap
Mar 24 | 00:51:58
Mapping the darkness; the science behind sleep
Mar 20 | 00:03:14
Midweek Reset: When to Quit
Mar 17 | 00:51:56
Splintering: When a divorce and first child arrive together
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