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The Big Think Interview

124 episodes

Intimate interviews with the world’s biggest thinkers.

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All Episodes (124)

A person sitting on a chair in a cozy interior with brick walls, two windows, plants, and a lamp.

Are we disciplining ourselves out of happiness?

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8 min

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with

Oliver Burkeman

A missile in motion with the words "2025's Top Threats" against a blue background.

10 biggest world threats of 2025, ranked | Ian Bremmer

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22 min

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with

Close-up view of a marble sculpture's lower face, showing a smile with detailed lips and chin against a dark background.

The philosophy of happiness, explained in 10 minutes

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11 min

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with

A pink brain shaped like a heart with rays emanating from it against a black background.

Emotional intelligence: The 4 domains of high performance

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8 min

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with

Aerial view of a large cargo ship with multicolored containers navigating through deep blue ocean waters.

The basics of post-COVID monetary policy, explained by an economist

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11 min

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with

Joseph Politano

Close-up image of a human iris featuring vibrant blue and yellow hues with a dark pupil in the center.

The mystery at the heart of consciousness

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10 min

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with

A man with short, grayish hair, wearing a dark blazer and black shirt, stares directly at the camera against a black background.

Sam Harris: Your mind is all you have. Is yours working?

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10 min

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with

A person with glasses and a black blazer is looking directly at the camera against a black background.

Yuval Noah Harari’s guidebook for navigating the age of AI

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75 min

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with

Yuval Noah Harari

The image shows the words "Organizational Friction" in bold white text on a black background with red arrows crossing over them.

Why ‘friction thinkers’ see hidden opportunities first

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7 min

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with

Illustration of two human silhouettes facing each other with neural connections and nodes, featuring the text "BORN AND MADE" on a green background.

6 key abilities of strategic thinkers (you can learn them)

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7 min

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with

Michael D. Watkins

London Business School professor explains how to improve your critical inquiry skills

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6 min

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with

Illustration depicting human evolution from a primate to an early human holding a spear, advancing from left to right.

Everything about civilization is changing. Why aren’t our bodies evolving?

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8 min

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with

Sean B. Carroll

A dark background with the words "Generative AI HYPE" written in flames.

Generative AI is not the panacea we’ve been promised

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8 min

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with

The Earth partially submerged in water, symbolizing climate change and rising sea levels, against a black background.

Doomerism won’t fix the planet, but we can

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13 min

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with

Digital illustration of a human brain, displaying vibrant colors transitioning from green to blue and pink, set against a gradient and black background.

Reboot your mind for flow, unanxiousness, and resilience

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26 min

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with

The history of work: 3 experts debunk common myths

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25 min

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with

The lost art of accomplishment without burnout

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6 min

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with

The mind-blowing chaos that underpins the world

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11 min

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with

She studied extreme psychopaths. Here’s what it taught her about human nature

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11 min

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with

Text 'Period Myths' in bold white letters on a black background, surrounded by various-sized red spheres.

Period myths that “just need to die”

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11 min

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with

A mosaic of 36 square tiles, each showing a different fragment of various human faces, combined to create a composite image of diverse facial features.

Yascha Mounk: The rise of the identity ideology—and why I think it spells trouble

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13 min

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with

A gradient bar titled "The Future" shows a range from "Apathy" in red on the left to "Fear" in red on the right, with green in the middle. An arrow points to the green area.

Why apathy and fear are the two most useless positions on AI

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8 min

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with

A person sitting on a bench silhouetted against a colorful sunset sky.

Loneliness: The silent killer, and how to beat it

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24 min

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with

Michael Slepian

A man with short gray hair and a serious expression is looking directly at the camera, wearing a blue shirt against a plain background.

How to make unreasonable hospitality your cutting edge advantage

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6 min

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with

A classical stone bust of a man with a broken top, isolated against a black background.

The masculinity crisis, explained

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11 min

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with

A detailed image contrasting a fiery asteroid on the left with a cool, intricate snowflake on the right against a dark background.

What are the chances of YOU existing? A biologist explains

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11 min

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with

Sean B. Carroll

Sex in 3 places: Your brain, your bedroom, and in society

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25 min

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with

A melting yellow smiley face on a black background.

Happiness poison—and the antidote

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15 min

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with

Robert Waldinger

A woman holding up a picture of a smiling mouth.

Give up on happiness. Go hard at wonder.

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6 min

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with

Mcdonald's mcdonald's mcdonald's mcdonald.

Gary Vee: Rules of billion-dollar brands

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7 min

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with

Gary Vaynerchuk

Related

A person sitting on a chair in a cozy interior with brick walls, two windows, plants, and a lamp.

Are we disciplining ourselves out of happiness?

Many of us wake up each morning with something Oliver Burkeman calls “productivity debt.” The bestselling author and journalist explains this term as “a sense that you’ve got to work […]

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8 min

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with

Oliver Burkeman

A person with a bald head, white beard, and black glasses is wearing a light blue shirt, standing in a softly lit kitchen.

How one moment of shamelessness saved Andrew Zimmern’s life

After decades of drug and alcohol abuse, the chef and television personality labeled himself as an ‘irredeemable human being.’ Everything changed when he found the courage to ask for help.

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8 min

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with

Cursor pointing at a button labeled "Generate jobs" with an icon of a photo and sparkles.

The surprising data on AI and unemployment rates

“I’m here to argue that AI is not going to cause a rise in unemployment. I think it’s actually increased employment in the United States, not decreased it.”

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4 min

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with

Joseph Politano

Various capsules arranged diagonally on a blue surface, alternating between light and dark colors.

The truth about supplements, from a doctor

“The truth is there are very few supplements that have good evidence-based medicine to support them.”

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5 min

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with

Person wearing a light blue suit and floral shirt, flexing both arms, set against a brick wall background.

How record-breaking swimmer Diana Nyad found strength and healing in the water

From anger to awe: How one woman overcame “debilitating trauma” to conquer a near-impossible 53-hour swim at 64.

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8 min

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with