The Next Big Idea

The Next Big Idea Club

The Next Big Idea is a weekly series of in-depth interviews with the world’s leading thinkers. Join hosts Rufus Griscom and Caleb Bissinger — along with our curators, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink — for conversations that might just change the way you see the world. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. For ad inquiries, please reach out to: Network+NBI@yapmedia.com

  1. 3 days ago

    The Case for Speechmaking in the Age of Doomscrolling

    America's a funny place. It's not a country with a fixed geographic or religious identity. We don't have a common story of divine creation. "What we have," writes Ben Rhodes in his new book, ⁠All We Say⁠, "are words." The words of the founding documents, yes — but also "the words of speeches spoken by Americans who call us to be that better version of ourselves." Ben has spent more time with great American speeches than just about anyone. For eight years, he was a speechwriter in the Obama White House, crafting some of the defining oratory of the era. His new book is a 250-year tour through 15 speeches that built the country, challenged it, and raised its sights. He tells us how FDR changed the course of WWII from behind the lectern, how MLK ad-libbed one of the most famous lines in American history, and what Obama's 2008 speech about race can teach today's politicians about storytelling. And he makes the case that America needs great oratory now more than it has in a long time. 💬 LINES WE LOVED: “Try to imagine American identity without speeches. It's hard to do. It's almost like secular scripture. Think about the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's second inaugural, the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech or those Kennedy speeches — or, if you're a Republican, the speeches that Reagan gave. I would argue that one of the reasons our politics is so fractured and we can't talk to each other or persuade each other of anything is because we're not doing that anymore.” “Obama used to say to me, ‘Remember that everything we do is just we're trying to tell the best story we can about America and what it can be.’ Not only is every speech a story, but every speech is a chapter in a larger story we're trying to tell.” 🔗 LINKS + SPONSORS: If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like our conversations with Erik Larson, Walter Isaacson, Eric Weiner, and Jill Lepore. Granola ➡️ If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.ai/idea Incogni ➡️ Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi Quince ➡️ Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi Shopify ➡️ Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

    1hr 7min

  2. 6 days ago

    Best Of: Stop Chasing More. Start Embracing Your Limits.

    In his mega-bestseller Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman showed that the finitude of life “isn’t a reason for unremitting despair, or for living in an anxiety-fueled panic about making the most of your limited time. It’s a cause for relief.” In his follow-up book, Meditations for Mortals, he invites us to embrace what he calls “imperfectionism.” Accept your limitations, your finitude, your lack of control — because “the more we try to render the world controllable,” he warns, “the more it eludes us; and the more daily life loses … its resonance, its capacity to touch, move and absorb us.” This episode first aired on October 31, 2024, but it wasn’t Oliver’s first appearance on the show. Back in 2022, he sat down with our curator Malcolm Gladwell. You can find that conversation here. 💬 LINES WE LOVED: “Turning towards the limited situation in which we find ourselves is ultimately freeing, energizing, and conducive to meaningful productivity.” “Getting on top of all your to-dos is impossible because there's always a bigger space of things that we could do than things that we're going to be able to do.” “Everything is either a good time or a good story.” 🔗 SPONSORED BY: The Next Big Idea Club ➡️ Join today and we’ll send you a copy of David Epstein’s latest bestseller, Inside the Box. Use code PODCAST to save 20% at nextbigideaclub.com Incogni ➡️ Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi Quince ➡️ Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi Shopify ➡️ Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

    1hr 19min

  3. 21 May

    When Will AI Empty Your Dishwasher? (with Nicholas Thompson)

    Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and host of "The Most Interesting Thing in AI," joins Rufus and Caleb to explain why the machines may master our minds long before they master our muscles — and what that gap tells us about where AI is headed. Along the way: why human podcasters still beat AI ones, how Nick learned to stop worrying and love open source, and where he'd point an infinite AI budget. 🎧 Check out Nick’s previous appearance on the show here. 📦 Join the Next Big Idea Club and we’ll send you a copy of David Epstein’s new book, Inside the Box, and an invitation to a members-only Q&A with David on May 26. Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com/ 🔗 SPONSORED BY: Granola ➡️ If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to ⁠granola.ai/idea⁠ Incogni ➡️ Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at ⁠incogni.com/nbi⁠ Quince ➡️ Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/nbi⁠ Shopify ➡️ Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at ⁠shopify.com/nbi⁠

    54 min

  4. 18 May

    Best Of: An Epicurean Guide to the Good Life

    The Greek philosopher Epicurus made a rather bold claim over two thousand years ago. The key to life, he said, is simple: pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Around this maxim he developed a school of philosophy, Epicureanism, which promised its adherents that if they took care of their basic needs, surrounded themselves with trustworthy friends, and developed a basic understanding of science, they would be happy. But is it really that simple? Can the advice of someone born 2,363 years ago still hold true? To answer these questions, we turned to Emily Austin, professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University and author of the delightful book Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life. (This episode first aired in January 2023.) Sponsored By: Granola — If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.ai/idea  Incogni — Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi  Quince — Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi    Shopify — Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

    1hr 12min

  5. 14 May

    What if Uncertainty Isn’t Such a Bad Thing?

    You can run from uncertainty, but you can’t hide. The thing to do, says Simone Stolzoff, to develop comfort with ambiguity and build tolerance for the unknown. His new book is How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World that Demands Answers. Granola ➡️ If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.ai/idea Incogni ➡️ Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi Quince ➡️ Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi Shopify ➡️ Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

    55 min

  6. 11 May

    You Can Grow Your Brain. Here’s How.

    In the last 20 years, there has been a dramatic change in our understanding of neuroplasticity — the brain’s capacity to grow new neurons. In the last five years, we’ve learned that your hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for learning and memory, can get bigger at any age. Majid Fotuhi, who teaches at Johns Hopkins, has been at the forefront of a new body of research demonstrating that lifestyle changes — tweaks to the way you exercise and eat, adjustments to your sleep and mindset — can improve your brain health no matter how old you are. They can even reverse early-stage Alzheimer’s. His new book is The Invincible Brain, and the message is clear: with the right lifestyle and mindset changes, you can grow a bigger brain. 🔗 LINKS AND MENTIONS: Check out our playlist of health-related episode on Spotify The Next Big Idea Club — Save 20% on any membership when you use code PODCAST at nextbigideaclub.com Granola — If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.ai/idea Incogni — Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi Quince — Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi Shopify — Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

    1hr 20min

  7. 7 May

    Turning Constraints Into Breakthroughs with David Epstein

    Is freedom overrated? In his new book, Inside the Box, David Epstein argues that constraints, limits and obstacles are what stimulate creativity, innovation, collaboration and personal contentment. 📦 Get David’s new book delivered straight to your door by joining the Next Big Idea Club! Learn more at nextbigideaclub.com (use code PODCAST for 20% off). 🔗 SPONSORED BY: Granola — If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.ai/idea  Incogni — Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi  Quince — Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi    Shopify — Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

    1hr 27min

  8. 4 May

    You're in the Hospitality Business (Whether You Know It or Not)

    For the last three years, Will Guidara has been on the road talking about unreasonable hospitality. He's met financiers and prison wardens, educators and athletes, Fortune 500 executives and small business owners. They kept asking the same question: "I get how this works in a restaurant, but how do I apply it in my business?" So Will wrote them an answer. It's called Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide. 🔗 SPONSORED BY: Granola — If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.ai/idea Incogni — Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi Quince — Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi Shopify — Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

    1hr 3min
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About

The Next Big Idea is a weekly series of in-depth interviews with the world’s leading thinkers. Join hosts Rufus Griscom and Caleb Bissinger — along with our curators, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink — for conversations that might just change the way you see the world. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. For ad inquiries, please reach out to: Network+NBI@yapmedia.com

Information

  • Channel
    The Next Big Idea Club
  • Creator
    Next Big Idea Club
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    342
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2019-2026 Heleo, Inc.
  • Show Website
    The Next Big Idea
  • Provider

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