Sam Harris speaks with Robert Waldinger about the Harvard Study of Adult Development. They discuss the limitations of relying on self-report to assess a person’s well-being; Daniel Kahneman’s remembering and experiencing selves; why it can be hard to figure out what makes us happy; the effects of alcohol, smoking, and exercise; the connection between work and fulfillment; the primacy of relationships; the diminishing importance of wealth; status vs feeling valued; the connection between good relationships and physical health; having kids and marital satisfaction; introversion vs extroversion; mortality and loss; collecting experiences vs things; the benefits of walking; taking relationships for granted; quantity vs quality time; the self and self states; the guru-disciple relationship; and the possibility of enlightenment.
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Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the Waking Up app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it.
#349 — Generosity, Cynicism, and the Future of Doing Good
#348 — The Politics of Antisemitism
#347 — Finding Sanity in 2024
#346 — The Best Kept Secret In History?
#345 — Resilience
#344 — The War in Gaza
#343 — What Is "Islamophobia"?
#342 — Animal Minds & Moral Truths
#341 — Gaza & Global Order
#340 — The Bright Line Between Good and Evil
#339 — The Infernal Logic of Jihad
#338 — The Sin of Moral Equivalence
#337 — The Future of Psychedelic Medicine
#336 — The Roots of Identity Politics
#335 — A Postmortem on My Response to Covid
#334 — The Low-Trust Society
#333 — Sanity Check on Climate Change
#332 — Can We Contain Artificial Intelligence?
#331 — A Golden Age for Assholes
#330 — The Doomsday Machine
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