Category: Naturals

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Episode #34: The Bildung Option: Lene Rachel Andersen on the Nordic Secret

According to the recently released World Happiness Report, all four Nordic nations are in the top 10, with Finland and Denmark leading the way. What is the secret to their success?

In 2020, David Brooks asked the same question:

Progressives say it’s because they have generous welfare states. Some libertarians point out that these countries score high on nearly every measure of free market openness. Immigration restrictionists note that until recently they were ethnically homogeneous societies.

None of these explanations, it turns out, is sufficient. The answer is education, specifically, education policy guided by an understanding of human nature and development captured by the German word Bildung.

Lene Rachel Andersen is a futurist and cultural philosopher who not only tells the Nordic success story, but explains how Bildung can and must be adapted for the 21st century. Can Bildung provide the cultural and institutional DNA for a new Renaissance?

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Episode #33: Kim Stanley Robinson on COP26

During my trip to the global climate talks in Glasgow in 2021, I had a most serendipitous encounter.

I was there as a member of Boston College’s first delegation to the United Nations Conference of the Parties (“COP”), and on day three, I bumped into the science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson, whose novel, The Ministry for the Future, I had recently assigned in my course on the ethics of climate change. Robinson is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest science fiction writers of our time. Ministry even made Barack Obama’s best books list of 2020.

I was expecting a photo and maybe a brief comment about his experience of the COP; instead, he gave me his email and, a few days later, over an hour of his time.

We sat on the floor in the “Action Zone,” one of the main lounges, ducking beneath the din of the conference, and talked about the climate, the future, the power of stories, and what he likes to call the science fiction novel we are currently all living within.

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Episode #30: Values of the Wise with Jason Merchey

Jason Merchey embodies the Socratic ethos and the philosophical way of life: the humble search for wisdom. He has served in many roles—from clinical psychologist, to real estate investor, to therapy dog trainer—but his guiding passion is the love of wisdom. In his recent book, Wisdom: A Very Valuable Virtue that Cannot Be Taught, he explores this virtue that is so elusive yet so essential to a life well lived.

Jason has developed practical tools to help people develop wisdom in their own life, including the Top Values Tool and the Ethical Decision Making Guide. Self-knowledge is a key component of wisdom, and we don’t often have occasion to step back and reflect on why, exactly, we do what we do. Check them out!

In this conversation, we explore the nature of wisdom and many things more, from wisdom in investing to one of my favorite topics: the wisdom of dogs.

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Episode #20: “Post-Progressive” Political Philosophy with Steve McIntosh (Part 2)

Steve McIntosh is the founder of the Institute for Cultural Evolution, a think tank devoted to solving the problem of political polarization. His recent book, Developmental Politics, draws on integral philosophy to drill down into the causes of the culture wars, and proposes a bold new vision for how America can become a better version of itself.

More recently, Steve has collaborated with thought leaders such as John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods, and Carter Phipps on the book Conscious Leadership, and started an organization called the Post-Progressive Post.

Steve’s diagnosis of the hyper-polarization plaguing our political culture is the best I have ever come across; better, in my judgment, than those of media luminaries such as Ezra Klein and Jonathan Haidt. Join us for a philosophical tour de force of a conversation.

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Episode #19: “Post-Progressive” Political Philosophy with Steve McIntosh (Part 1)

Steve McIntosh is the founder of the Institute for Cultural Evolution, a think tank devoted to solving the problem of political polarization. His recent book, Developmental Politics, draws on integral philosophy to drill down into the causes of the culture wars, and proposes a bold new vision for how America can become a better version of itself.

More recently, Steve has collaborated with thought leaders such as John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods, and Carter Phipps on the book Conscious Leadership, and started an organization called the Post-Progressive Post.

Steve’s diagnosis of the hyper-polarization plaguing our political culture is the best I have ever come across; better, in my judgment, than those of media luminaries such as Ezra Klein and Jonathan Haidt. Join us for a philosophical tour de force of a conversation!

Continue reading “Episode #19: “Post-Progressive” Political Philosophy with Steve McIntosh (Part 1)”
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Episode #13: Tim Richardson (Part 2)

Tim Richardson is a Washington, DC based multi-client government affairs and media
consultant. After extensive political and business publishing and two congressional aide
stints, Richardson has become the nation’s only private sector consultant that has worked
on Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spill restoration. In addition, he has served
as Wildlife Forever’s Washington, DC representative since 1995.

In our conversation, Tim sings the praises of what he calls “normative careers,” and explains why studying the humanities and philosophy can not only lead to a fulfilling life, but a successful career. Tim has worn many hats throughout his career–journalist, speechwriter, fundraiser, consultant, lobbyist–and worked for a number of politicians, including Lloyd Bentsen. But what unites his efforts is his grounding in philosophy.

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Episode #12: Tim Richardson (Part 1)

Tim Richardson is a Washington, DC, based multi-client government affairs and media
consultant. After extensive political and business publishing and two congressional aide
stints, Richardson has become the nation’s only private sector consultant that has worked
on Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spill restoration. In addition, he has served
as Wildlife Forever’s Washington, DC representative since 1995.

In our conversation, Tim sings the praises of what he calls “normative careers,” and explains why studying the humanities and philosophy can not only lead to a fulfilling life, but a successful career. Tim has worn many hats throughout his career–journalist, speechwriter, fundraiser, consultant, lobbyist–and worked for a number of politicians, including Lloyd Bentsen. But what unites his efforts is his grounding in philosophy.

Continue reading “Episode #12: Tim Richardson (Part 1)”