Psychology
Step Outside the Circle: Robert Greene on Finding the Sublime in Ordinary Attention
Robert Greene tells Andrew Huberman that awe isn't a trip you take but a doorway out of habit. His circle of consciousness, self-remembering, slowing your frame rate and falling in love on purpose, with his history and science claims checked.
Fewer Problems, Same Worry: James Smith on Why Success Never Empties the Worry Jar
James Smith tells Chris Williamson his first $100,000 month felt smaller than his first $10,000 one. Why worry expands as life improves, the monthly number that buys calm, and ambition as a game, with claims checked.
Laughter Needs a Room: Jimmy Carr on Why Comedy Is Connection, and Why He Doubts AI Can Be Funny
Jimmy Carr tells Sam Harris that comedy's real purpose is connection, that it should be taught like music, and that AI won't be funny because it can't laugh with anyone. His craft, his view of AI, and what we checked.
Leave the Tent: Jordan Peterson on Why Comfort Makes You Pick Fights With Your Own Life
Jordan Peterson reads the story of Abraham as a warning: comfort without purpose breeds self-made trouble. His case for answering the call to grow and giving up your immature self, with the claims checked.
Smarter, Quieter: Michal Kosinski on the AI Progress You Can't See, and the Dependence He Fears
Psychologist Michal Kosinski says AI got far smarter than most users notice. Why models feel human, how they learn from talking to you, and his fear that AI domesticates us, with the mathematicians' letter checked.
Not Willpower, a New Link: Tony Robbins's Pain-and-Pleasure Switch, and How Far Research Backs It
A food that once made you sick can repel you for years, with no willpower needed. Tony Robbins says the same switch, from pleasure to pain, drives every change. We check it against research on taste aversion, fear messages and habits.
The Last Class: What Tuesdays with Morrie Teaches About Living, and Which Lessons Research Backs
Fourteen Tuesdays with a dying professor: Morrie's lessons on death, love, regret and money, which ones research supports, and the Auden line that drifted.
People Are Patterns: Robert Greene's Laws of Human Nature, and How Far to Trust Them
Greene's 18 laws for reading the people around you, and yourself. A useful lens for paying closer attention, built on stories from history rather than studies.
How Robert Caro Gets the Truth Out of Power: Know the Documents, Ask Why, Watch Who Calls
Robert Caro has spent 50 years getting powerful people to say what they shouldn't. Talking to Dwarkesh Patel, he explains how: know the documents, ask why, read small signs of power and get every book down to one sentence. We check his numbers.
Narcissism Is a Dial, Not a Diagnosis: Ramani Durvasula on Spotting the Pattern and Healing Without Leaving
Ramani Durvasula says the question isn't whether someone is a narcissist but how narcissistic they are. Her guide to love bombing, gaslighting and healing without leaving, plus a check on the headline's "1 in 6", which isn't a diagnosis rate.
The Test That Sorted You Was Built on a Belief: Jiang Xueqin's Case Against the Meritocracy, Checked
If a test score ever sorted you, Jiang Xueqin says the system behind it is failing children, and that it grew from a quasi-religious faith in reason. We check his history of the SAT, IQ and the word meritocracy, and look at the school he'd build instead.
Your Gut Is Guessing: What Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow Gets Right, and the Chapters That Failed
Your fast, confident gut answers most questions before you think. Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow shows when it misleads you. Which findings held up, and which chapters failed replication, as Kahneman admitted.