“There’s a very pervasive belief that human nature is fundamentally selfish, but I know for a fact that that can’t be true in part because my life was saved by a stranger a long time ago when I was 19.”

“Because of the efficiency worship that we have developed in our industrial age, we are now seeing procrastination as a character flaw rather than what it is, a signal that is worth listening to.”

What happens when the boundaries of “you” disappear? James Fadiman, PhD, Jamie Wheal, and Matthew Johnson, PhD explore how supported experiences with psychoactive drugs can dissolve identity and reveal a deeper reality.

“All information technologies up to the 21st century were organic networks based on our organic brain.”

Astrobiologist Betül Kaçar on why the simple act of asking questions (without needing a reason) is one of the most powerful things a human can do.

“One of the ways you can see the Roman Empire is it’s the worldwide web of its day.”

“So many things could have happened in a different way that we wouldn’t be here at all, both individually, for sure, and certainly as a species.”

“What did you win? You won awkward silence. You won their contempt. You won the first to apologize. When you win an argument, you will lose their confidence, you will lose their respect, you will lose the connection.”

Your body language sends messages before your mouth does. Author Robert Greene and negotiation expert Daniel Shapiro PhD explain the key characteristics of nonverbal power and emotional presence that shape how others perceive you.

“An equation, perhaps no more than one inch long, that would allow us to, quote, ‘Read the mind of God.’”

“Anxiety is focused on things that are important to you in life. That is the key.”

Your brain changes when you experience something, and it changes again when you remember it. Two neuroscientists explain what that means for memory, perception, and identity.

Three doctors break down brain function, somatic awareness, and how to recover from bad experiences.

What if emotional regulation isn’t just a trait, but a skill parents and teachers can help develop? Ethan Kross reveals what science says about shaping young minds.

“We can make ourselves more likely to be happy by building a life that includes the conditions that make for happiness.”

“The sense that we are a solid entity, an unchanging entity that exists someplace in our body and takes ownership of our body, and even ownership of our brain rather than being identical to our brain, that is where the illusion lies.”

“The simplest, most powerful way to reinforce work, not jobs, is to ask people to do something different.”

From trepanning to lobotomies, humans have long struggled to manage emotion. Today, we have better tools. Psychologist Ethan Kross shares what actually works, and why.

“The public really doesn’t realize that they are much closer to CIA spies than they think they are.”

“Invention matters, but implementation matters more.”

Today’s technologist archetypes share a blind spot. Brendan McCord, founder of the Cosmos Institute explains why “philosophy is essential” when building planetary-scale technology.

Philosopher Meghan Sullivan challenges the idea that religious texts can’t be taken seriously in modern philosophy. She explains how parables, scripture, and debate have always been connected to asking life’s biggest questions:

“Could black holes be the key to a quantum theory of gravity, a deeper theory of how reality, of how space and time works?”

“We’ve sent out one or two little messages, but we certainly aren’t investing billions of dollars shouting out into the cosmos saying, “Hey, we are here. Come say hi.””

The ocean is evolving, and it’s not based on the ‘survival of the fittest.’ Astrobiologist Betül Kaçar explains how it’s not competition that has kept the ocean alive, but collaboration.

“Virtually everything we’re taught about sexuality for the first two decades of our lives is wrong.”

“It’s a very, very beautiful calculation, but it’s the best example I know of the relationship between these rather abstract quantities perhaps and something that you can look at in a telescope.”

According to philosopher Meghan Sullivan, effective altruism may overlook the moral importance of seeing others as individuals. She explains how love should guide how we care for both present and future humans.

“Fraud never sleeps. It’s really a global problem. Fraud is a trillion dollar problem, about $5 trillion today, with that number increasingly rising annually.”

“You can’t possibly exaggerate how much better it is to live in a peaceful, orderly society, and to be wealthy, and healthy, and surrounded by people who you love.”