Episodes

Today we will unlock the book Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. The author, equipped with a modern perspective and a confident understanding of both evolutionary history and psychology, addresses Buddhist philosophy and argues Buddhist philosophy’s validity is rooted in science. In a scene from the original Matrix movie, a science fiction action film from 1999, the main character, Neo, finds out that he has been living in a dream world. The life h...

Michel de Montaigne, a famous French philosopher and writer of the sixteenth century, was deeply interested in the question: “how to live”. Indeed, his writings constantly grappled with this issue. However, his interest was not merely ethical or moral; rather, what he sought was a practical solution to the question: “how can we live a good life?”. To do this, he wrote a total of 107 essays on “how to live” and published what became his widely popular series of “Essais”. These essays were filled ...

How long will it take for a submarine at the bottom of the ranking to become the best in its fleet? A couple of years, right? Well, incredibly L. David Marquet spent only less than a year to achieve this magnificent and outstanding feat. Santa Fe is the submarine at the core of this story. Before Marquet took command, she ranked bottom in the whole of the US Navy’s nuclear attack submarine fleet. For a significant period of time, its negative reputation preceded her and was known instead for he...

If you were born in America and someone told you that someday, an African-American child with divorced parents and no political background would become the president of the country, would you have believed it? Perhaps it would have been inconceivable until the arrival of Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. If you want to know the story of the president’s journey from ordinary to extraordinary, today's bookey will detail his story for you. The book is written by Oba...

Speaking of Europe in the 14th century, people often think of the plague, insurrections, schism in the Church, and other negative labels. For the most part, it was a time of violence, misery and suffering, as well as darkness and chaos. People tend to use the word “dark” to describe it, but this is inherently biased and too generic. That’s why we need a guide who can give us a closer look at this period in history so we can better understand it. After a painstaking search through history, the a...

This book is about a revolutionary topic: childhood emotional neglect. This is a psychological phenomenon rarely examined in mainstream publications. It explains how a person's lack of parental emotional feedback in childhood directly impacts their psychological state in adulthood. It also examines the relationship between parenting styles and the formation of a child’s personality. First, we should pay special attention to the words “lack of emotional feedback”. This refers to the moments when...

Alfred Hitchcock’s movies always manage to keep the audience on the edge of their seats through series of climactic sequences. The British director is known for his ability in creating stories filled with suspense, thanks to his ability to control the feelings that we, as humans, all share. Hitchcock has a methodology that favors the effective development of his work: he simultaneously uses two separate scripts when making his films. The blue script is dedicated to documenting the functional asp...

The Great Gatsby describes American society during the 1920s. After the First World War, the US economy was booming. Evidence of lavish entertainment and celebration could be seen everywhere. And many people indulged their hedonistic, decadent lifestyles, straying from traditional moral and ethical constraints. Fitzgerald christened this era the “Jazz Age.” His writing presents an objective view of the pleasure-seeking conditions he witnessed. That’s why he became known as the chronicler and poe...

Many people are familiar with the topic of psychology. It is often in the spotlight nowadays. Psychology-related content is everywhere on the Internet, including courses, videos, books, and articles. All of them discuss one public concern after another, and we all turn to psychology to find answers in our seemingly meaningless lives. But, are we dealing with real psychology, or pseudoscience under the guise of psychology? What kind of research does it take to come to a credible conclusion? If t...

We live in an era of uncertainty. Everyone must make decisions whether they like it or not. We make both big and small decisions every day, whether we’re playing chess or looking for a job. Should you compete for that promotion? Who would be the best teammate for your casual basketball game? Strategic thinking exists everywhere and anytime in our work and life. This vast scope in which we use strategic thinking leaves us with an important question: How do we become good decision-makers? The book...

Everyone needs love. Everyone is potentially able to love; yet, especially in our fast-paced era, a time of uneasiness and uncertainty, not everyone understands love. Love may often be accompanied by pervasive feelings of insecurity. Multiple dating and matchmaking websites have emerged to take advantage of people’s anxieties around love. Striking, around the streets of Paris, are eye-catching advertisements with words such as “Get love without chance!” or “Be in love without falling in love!” T...

To make the world a better place, we are often told to take the ethical action, get the right result, and constantly seek the beauty of humanity through justice. But things are not always black and white. At times we may feel although every choice has a logical aspect, it also brings some problematic repercussions. In such circumstances, we postulate ambiguity between right and wrong; we evaluate how to make a decision and choices made by others. A classic example of this conundrum is the troll...

If someone asks, "What is the single most important organ in our body?" Many of us will answer that it is our brain, and you’d be correct. But thank about it, how did you take in their question? How did you come up with a response? What allowed you to move your mouth, lungs and vocal chords to answer? That’s right, it was your brain. As the most important organ in our body, it governs our emotions, thinking, and behavior. In our daily lives, we need the brain to call the shots for nearly any of ...

The Information Age considers the economy and technology to be the driving forces of development. And so, society considers the rational left brain more important and emphasizes its analytical reasoning and logical thinking abilities. But as society enters a new age, it has begun to require more creative and meaningful thinking skills. Relying on the left brain alone is no longer enough to meet the needs of development. Therefore, we need to learn to develop and improve our six essential right b...

The author, Robert Gerwarth, argues that the end of World War One failed to bring about lasting peace. After the First World War, new regimes and wars sprung up throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Conflicts arouse amidst the turbulent political environment between nation-states and competing ideologies of the time. Radical fascist ideas found fertile ground that soon permeated throughout Europe. As a German, Gerwarth is well versed in German history. He is keenly aware of the suffering and h...

The existentialist philosopher Albert Camus wrote The Stranger when he was twenty-six years old. When it was published, the novel was soon a huge success. It laid the foundation for Camus’ renowned writing career. Within a few years of its publication, The Stranger had received widespread acclaim in the literary world. Reviewing the novel, critic Marcel Arland concludes, “We recognize… in The Stranger: a genuine writer.” Another critic, Henri Hell, wrote, “With The Stranger, Camus ranks at the ...

Hemingway was born in 1899, in Oak Park, Chicago. During his life, he fought in both World Wars as well as the Spanish Civil War, which inflicted tremendous damage on him both physically and psychologically. The wars opened his eyes to a world filled with violence and bloodshed, giving him a bleak and pessimistic world view. Following the First World War, the works of several American writers depicted characters who are empty, confused, and unable to find their sense of purpose or direction in l...

The author, Marie-Henri Beyle, is better known by his pen name “Stendhal.” He was born in 1783 in the city of Grenoble in southeastern France. His mother passed away before he turned eight. After his mother’s death, his upbringing was severe. It caused him to develop a gloomy personality. He grew to resent his lawyer father and his strict tutor, a Jesuit-priest. Fortunately, his salvation was his grandfather, who was kind and loving towards him. He read voraciously in his grandfather’s library. ...

In nature, most showy and beautiful creatures exist for the sake of sex. Plants, in order to spread pollen to as many mates as possible, produce gorgeous blossoms that attract bees. Some animals use their splendid appearances to attract attention from the opposite sex, while others become extremely talented singers or dancers. Every note and every movement they make is an anxious cry: “Pick me! Pick me!” They also duel with those of the same sex to secure successful reproduction and an excellent...

The book expounds on the important insight that people are intrinsically moralistic, critical, and judgmental. Haidt argues that morality is a key difference separating humans from other animals. that it is a natural process we are all designed to “do.” But morality resembles taste – everyone’s taste is different. Taste is influenced by people’s background, how, where, and when they were brought up. Differentiated moral taste means that people often can’t conceptualize another person’s morality....

The concept of Emotional intelligence, also known as EQ, was first proposed by two psychologists, John Mayer and Peter Salovey. Daniel Goleman, this book’s author, agrees with this concept and argues that emotional intelligence consists of five aspects: knowing one’s emotions, managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others, and handling relationships. This book demonstrates the importance of emotional intelligence to our success. Goleman, the author of the book, is a well...

Speech has always been an important weapon for spreading ideas, influencing others, and standing out in political struggles. Confucius, a great thinker and educator in ancient China, traveled to multiple countries for decades, persuading monarchs and subjects with excellent speech skills and resulting in the wide spread of Confucianism, which still plays a role all over the world. In contemporary times, Queen Elizabeth the Second’s father, George the Sixth, was rated as the most famous contempo...

In December 2017, a statistic showed that 43% of 'Fortune 500' company founders were from an immigrant background. In the top 35 companies, immigrant backgrounds accounted for 57% of founders. Why do people from immigrant backgrounds have such outstanding business success? This is because the experience gained from immigration matters. By crossing borders, they become exposed and accustomed to adapting to a variety of cultures. This not only makes them open-minded to new things but also highly ...

Maye Musk is Elon Musk’s mother who attributes his success to her and the way she has nurtured and influenced him. Elon Musk has publicly stated numerous times that his mother is his hero. Born in Canada, Maye immigrated to South Africa with her parents when she was only 2 years old. She became a model at fifteen, won a beauty pageant at twenty-one, and got married at twenty-two. After discovering her husband's infidelity and suffering many episodes of domestic violence, she divorced her husban...