The Examined Life (Kenneth Primrose)

The writer and journalist Oliver Burkeman has spent the last few decades studying and writing about different self-help and productivity strategies. One of the conclusions Oliver has come to, is that there is liberation in realising our limitations. In this first episode of the series, Oliver explores the question of how we can more fully embrace our finitude.

Support the show

Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, and a world leading expert on addiction. Her influential book Dopamine Nation describes the ways our culture is primed to make us into addicts. Dr Lembke's work is compelling, and provides a raft of practical advice for navigating a culture where so much of life has become 'drugified' to make us into addicts.

Support the show

Dr Lisa Miller is a professor of psychology at Columbia University in New York. Her books The Spiritual Child and The Awakened Brain focus on the psychology of spirituality, and why it is so important to pay attention to our innate spirituality. Dr Miller's work is fascinating, profound, and practical at illuminating an aspect of being that is rarely given scientific attention but is crucial to human flourishing.

Support the show

Tim Ingold is a professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen. He is a fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and is one of the most influential anthropologists in the field today. This conversation explores the way we have come to think about the passage of human generations, and why there is a need to think differently in order to live sustainably.

Support the show

How do you keep score in the game of life? Journalist and author Will Storr explores the evolutionary roots of our need to play games for status and connection, and why it is valuable to become consciously aware of the games we are playing, and what the different games are that we play across the lifespan. 

Support the show

Why does life seem to be getting harder and faster day by day? How can we shift the paradigm towards a more sustainable and harmonious existence? Join us as we tackle these questions with Helena Norberg-Hodge, an influential thinker, writer, award-winning filmmaker, and founder of the non-profit Local Futures. 

Helena shares her insights on the broken economic system and its devastating impact on our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. Drawing from her experience living with the Ladakh in Tibet, we discuss how embracing a more interconnected and interdependent worldview can lead to a healthier planet and lifestyle. Helena also reveals the importance of promoting local economies can foster adaptation, reduce waste, and create more accountable practices.

Finally, we examine the dangers of blind faith in technology and the vital role of experiential knowledge in our lives. Discover how we can challenge technological optimism, reconnect with nature, and renew our sense of hope for a more balanced and sustainable future. 

Support the show

Sir Terry Waite spent almost five years in solitary confinement as a hostage in Beirut. After being  released he founded Emmaus UK for the homeless and Hostage International, both of which he is president of.  He has recently been knighted as recognition for his work. In this conversation we explore the damage done by the erosion of trust, how to rebuild it, and how suffering can be turned to creative ends. There are few people today who manage to combine the humility and courage that Sir Terry seems to so naturally possess, he is a true inspiration.

Support the show

Ever found yourself pondering what truly constitutes a sense of 'home'? Join me as I, alongside award-winning author and journalist, Madeline Bunting, explore the multifaceted concept of home and the profound emotions associated with it. From reminiscing about our childhood homes, to discussing how our upbringing shaped our perceptions about home, we explore the essence of home, and the different meanings it takes.

Support the show

This is a special summary episode with reflection points from 2023 to take forward into the year ahead. The episode pulls together one key idea from each conversation, accompanied by some thoughts on why I found it particularly helpful and interesting. In this episode you will hear extracts from Oliver Burkeman, Anna Lembke, Lisa Miller, Tim Ingold, Will Storr, Helena Norberg Hodge, Sir Terry Waite, and Madeleine Bunting. Each of these people has a perspective which is worth attending to - one which might hopefully be a positive influence for the year ahead.

Support the show

How can we find meaning in life? In this episode we are joined by the celebrated psychologist Dacher Keltner where we explore where meaning comes from, and how the emotion of awe can help us find it. Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at UCLA Berkley, where he teaches and researches in the area of positive psychology, and researches the emotion of awe. Dacher is a wonderful communicator and offers much that is fascinating, helpful and uplifting for anyone who craves a greater sense of meaning in life.

Support the show

 In this episode the writer and podcaster Elizabeth Oldfield explores the question ‘who is it that I want to be becoming?’ We discuss the pernicious forces that are shaping us, and what it means to be intentional about structuring our time attention around those practices that can deepen and shape our character.

Support the show

Are you optimistic about the future? Do you think we're heading in the right direction as a species? If not, you're in good company. In this episode the writer and speaker Dougald Hine explores what's gone wrong with 'modernity', and what it might mean to think generative thoughts about the future.  Dougald speaks with wisdom and clarity about our current predicament, and what kind of thinking and acting we are being called to in this moment.

Support the show

As AI evolves and replaces different human functions, it raises questions about what it is that makes us distinctively human, and whether that distinctiveness can and should be programmed into AI. This is a question that Dr Eve Poole has thought and written a great deal about. Her recent book Robot Souls takes this question seriously, and explores possible trajectories for our future with AI. In this episode we discuss the necessity of human 'junk code', the increasing importance of the humanities in education, and whether we should trying a bit harder to make AI beings in our own image.

Support the show

Iain McGilchrist is a rare polymath who draws on his background in literature, philosophy, medicine and the sciences to make a profound argument that the kind of attention we pay to the world determines not only the kind of people we become, but also the world we create. He argues that the brains left hemisphere has a disenchanted and mechanical view of the world, and it is this that has come to dominate the Western World. A consequence of this is that we've lost a sense of the sacred, of belonging, and of the reality of the values of truth, beauty and goodness.

In this episode we discuss what it is about life that we might be missing through the way we are paying attention. The conversation is wide ranging, exploring the brain hemispheres,  the reality of values, and indeed the purpose of life in the universe.

Further information on Iain's work can be found on his website.
A full version of this interview  will be available on the Examined Life's youtube channel.

Support the show

Show links:
Todd's website - https://toddkashdan.com/
Todd's Substack - https://toddkashdan.substack.com/
Kenny's Substack - https://positivelymaladjusted.substack.com/
Examined Life youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpKC6L_IJ2zvL6E6M8Ly1AA

What if the most influential voices in our society are those often left unheard? In this episode, I sit down with Todd Kashdan, a psychology professor at George Mason University and the mind behind "The Art of Insubordination," to unravel the complexities of influence and dissent. We begin by discussing how individuals with little power, status, or majority support can still make a significant impact. Todd and I explore the significance of offering constructive ideas, no matter how imperfect, and the necessity of ensuring diverse participation in discussions to amplify marginalised voices.

Next, we shine a spotlight on the indispensable role of principled dissenters in driving societal progress. Through the inspiring stories of Richard Feynman and Nelson Mandela, we highlight how challenging groupthink is not just courageous but essential for improvement. We dissect whether individualistic or collectivist societies are more conducive to nurturing such brave voices, drawing lessons from Mandela's resilience and leadership within a collectivist context. This chapter delves deep into the sacrifices and personal risks associated with being a change-maker, offering listeners tangible examples of how dissent can lead to monumental shifts.

Finally, we navigate the virtues essential for fostering a culture of curiosity and intellectual humility. We discuss the trade-offs one needs to make for a meaningful life, and the importance of creativity, experimentation, and living authentically. We discuss how education systems can nurture or stifle the principled insubordinates of tomorrow and the critical need for inefficiency and curiosity in both educational and professional settings. This episode has practical tips on how you can cultivate the power pave your unique path against societal norms. Special thanks to Todd Kashdan for his invaluable insights.

Support the show

Dr Jill Bolte-Taylor was a neuroanatomist at Harvard when she suffered a severe stroke on the left hemisphere of her brain. It was an experience which profoundly changed her life, and opened her up to the agency we all have in choosing our attention. She explores this in her TED talk back in 2008, which became one of the most popular TED talks ever. In this conversation we explore Jill's question 'who are we, and what are we doing here?', doing so through the lens of neuroanatomy, as well as her experience of having a stroke. Many of the ideas we explore are unpacked further in her book Whole Brain Living.

Support the show

What do we lack when we lack religion? In this episode Alex Evans explores the role that religion has historically played in both collective and individual life, and the shape it leaves behind when it disappears. The stories that we locate ourselves within and the rituals they enshrine, are formative in the way we attend to the world. Religion has historically provided the structure for this work, and its absence leaves a vacuum. The conversation explores the various pretenders to the religious throne, any why many of them fall short. 

Alex works at the intersection of where the state of our minds meets the state of the world, and the way these influence one another. His organisation Larger Us is seeks to drive positive change address the crises of our day by bringing people together, you can find out more on their website - www.larger.us.

Support the show

Phoebe Tickell is a biologist, systems thinker, and 'imagination activist'. Phoebe works across multiple contexts applying a complexity and systems thinking lens and engaging people in how to think differently about the planet and its problems. In 2020 Phoebe created 'Moral Imaginations', which researches and implements collective imagination exercises and training to inspire change and find new solutions in an era of unprecedented disruption and potential for transformation.

In this episode we explore the ways in which western culture has shaped the way we think and approach the problems of our day. Phoebe suggests that taking a step back and questioning received wisdom might provide more promising solutions to the crises we are currently facing.

Support the show

This is a distilled version of last year's conversation with the writer Oliver Burkeman. In it, you'll hear Oliver talk about our troubled relationship with time and how to more fully inhabit it.

Oliver believes our obsession with productivity and efficiency is no route to happiness, quite the opposite. In order to inhabit time more fully, we need to embrace our limitations. This will mean admitting that however many worthwhile ways there are to spend our time, we can't do them all. This is a liberating fact, and can help us enjoy those things we have committed to all the more.

Oliver's new book Meditations for Mortals is now available to buy, and focuses on helpful ways to resist the culture of efficiency, and embrace our finitude more fully.

Support the show

In this summary episode, we take the theme of attention which runs through most of conversations in the second season. In the episode you'll hear fragments of conversation from Iain McGilchrist, Dacher Keltner, Dougald Hine, Phoebe Tickell, Alex Evans, Elizabeth Oldfield, Jill Bolte-Taylor, Eve Poole and Todd Kashdan. Over this short episode, you'll hear discussion of a wide range of topics, from religion,  AI and smartphones, to the role of awe and imagination.

Click here to access any of the podcast episodes in full - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-examined-life/id1680728280

Support the show

What if the Western approach to parenting is based on spurious cultural assumptions, not human nature? In this episode, science writer Michaeleen Doucleff takes us inside indigenous communities around the world to reveal what Western parenting gets backwards, as we explore her question - what are the universals of childhood? From the origins of modern parenting in orphanage manuals to the power of kids contributing to real family life, we explore what children actually need to thrive — and how small shifts can create big changes in connection, confidence, and calm at home.

Support the show