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Are We Wired for War? Nov 11, 2025

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What if the battlefield isn’t just out there, but also inside our heads? In the new book Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, neuroscientist Nicholas Wright draws on his experience advising the Pentagon and the British government to reveal how our brains are built for survival and strategy, in the office and on the battlefield. He shows that the same neural machinery that helps us cooperate, compete, and make moral choices also determines whether we wage war or choose peace. Then, in the second half of the show, we hear some key insights from the 2022 book The New Fire.

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How to Be Bold Nov 10, 2025

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First up, we hear from Ranjay Gulati, a Harvard Business School professor whose new book, How to Be Bold, reveals the surprising research on what makes ordinary people capable of brave acts. In the second half of the show, career coach Kathy Caprino shares five key insights from The Most Powerful You.

Let's Get Weird Nov 07, 2025

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In her 2020 book Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World, Olga Khazan draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and sociology to explore what it means to be different, and why our quirks and peculiarities can be powerful assets rather than liabilities.

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How Will AI Transform Our Politics? Nov 06, 2025

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Bruce Schneier is a security technologist at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Nathan Sanders is a data scientist at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center. They've been studying AI's impact on democratic institutions. Their new book is Rewiring Democracy.

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Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Food (But Were Afraid to Ask) Nov 05, 2025

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In Food Intelligence, health journalist Julia Belluz and nutrition scientist Kevin Hall deliver a comprehensive guide to food, diet, metabolism, and healthy eating.

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Why You Should Talk to Your Pet Nov 04, 2025

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Have you ever named your car? Or caught yourself baby-talking to your cat like he’s a tiny human? You’re not alone, and there’s actually fascinating science behind why we do this. We anthropomorphize everything from our Roombas to our houseplants, but is this quirk helping or hurting us? Justin Gregg is an animal cognition researcher, a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project and an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University. His new book, Humanish, explores what our tendency to humanize reveals about us—and why it might actually be one of our smartest habits.

Jim Cramer Says You Can Make Money in Any Market Nov 03, 2025

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The CNBC legend reveals why index funds won’t make you rich — and how to build lasting wealth by picking your own winning stocks. His new book is called How to Make Money in Any Market.

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How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us Oct 31, 2025

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Five key insights from The Social Biome by Andy Merolla and Jeffrey Hall.

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Why Does Everything Online Suck Now? Oct 30, 2025

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Cory Doctorow calls it “enshittification.” Here’s how we got here, and how we can make the internet not terrible again.

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5 Lessons the Dying Can Teach Us About Living Well Oct 29, 2025

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We often live like our time is limitless. But what if those who are facing the limits of life are the ones who really grasp what it’s all about? Diane Button has worked as a death doula for two decades, sitting beside people at the end of life and learning from their profound insights.

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