Life Examined

Jonathan Bastian

A weekly exploration of psychology, philosophy, endurance sports, and finding meaning in the modern world. lifeexamined.substack.com

  1. In praise of quiet kindness, when the world is asking us to be loud

    1 DAY AGO

    In praise of quiet kindness, when the world is asking us to be loud

    Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    7 min
  2. The Two Quotes I Think of — and Lean on — Every Day

    4 MAR

    The Two Quotes I Think of — and Lean on — Every Day

    What Viktor Frankl and Seneca say about meaning and mental health. An essay from LifeExamined.substack.com. Please subscribe! It's only takes a minute. Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    9 min
  3. Stay in touch with Life Examined over on Substack!

    2 MAR

    Stay in touch with Life Examined over on Substack!

    Hey everyone! It's Jonathan Bastian. Just popping in to tell you that I've been staying busy with a new weekly newsletter on Substack. I'm also spending time going through our 5yrs of archives to find hidden gems, unpublished interviews, and content that I think will be valuable to your life. It's so easy to sign up: LifeExamined.Substack.com. Just enter your email! Hope to see you over there - JB Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    1 min
  4. Robert Macfarlane: "Is a River Alive?"

    10/07/2025

    Robert Macfarlane: "Is a River Alive?"

    Robert Macfarlane of Cambridge University shares his extraordinary journey writing and researching his latest book “Is a River Alive?” and explains why a river can be viewed very much as a metaphor for life, always flowing, twisting, changing and adapting while at the same time providing sustenance for man and nature alike.   Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    49 min
  5. When to medicate the mind with Laura Delano

    10/06/2025

    When to medicate the mind with Laura Delano

    Laura Delano is the author of “UNSHRUNK: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance." As you’ll hear, Laura Delano speaks from first hand experience - diagnosed as a teenager with bipolar disorder, Delano shares her own struggles with mental illness, the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industry and the toll that treatment and medication took on her.   Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 4m
  6. Yale happiness guru Laurie Santos on the power of time off and modern parenting traps

    27/05/2025

    Yale happiness guru Laurie Santos on the power of time off and modern parenting traps

    Laurie Santos talks about the power of a sabbatical, burn out, and her new online course titled: “The Science of Well-Being for Parents”  —a direct result of discovering just how much pressure, stress and anxiety parents are under these days.  Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    51 min
  7. Ocean Vuong: "The Emperor of Gladness"

    15/05/2025

    Ocean Vuong: "The Emperor of Gladness"

    Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist, novelist and professor of modern poetry and poetics at New York University. Some of you may already be familiar with his best-selling debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, which received a MacArthur “Genius” grant and was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2019.  Vuong’s award-winning poetry collections include, Time Is a Mother (2022) and Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016).  His latest novel is  “The Emperor of Gladness. A Novel.”    Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    59 min
  8. “He showed us what simplicity could offer:” Pico Iyer and Paul Elie remember Pope Francis

    26/04/2025

    “He showed us what simplicity could offer:” Pico Iyer and Paul Elie remember Pope Francis

    Pico Iyer, essayist and author of numerous books including  “The Half Known Life:In Search of Paradise ” and most recently  “Aflame: Learning from Silence,” reflects on the death of Pope Francis and highlights the extraordinary impact Pope Francis’s life had, despite Iyer’s non-Christian faith. Pope Francis’s humility, simplicity, and actions, Iyer says, which exemplified his teachings had and continue to have a great impacted over Iyer’s spiritual life.  Paul Elie, religion scholar with the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, and author of “The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s”  shares his first hand impressions of meeting Pope Francis and particularly how humble and unpretentious the Pope was.  Elie says some of Pope Francis’s early experiences growing up in Argentina shaped his more progressive world views and reflects on the legacy that Pope Francis leaves behind on the world and on the Catholic Church.         Guests: Pico Iyer  Travel writer and author of Aflame: Learning from Silence, The Art of Stillness : Adventures in Going Nowhere, and, Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells, “The Half Known Life:In Search of Paradise ”   Paul Elie  Senior Fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, and author of “The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s” May 27, 2025        Get full access to Life Examined at lifeexamined.substack.com/subscribe

    52 min
See All (324)

About

A weekly exploration of psychology, philosophy, endurance sports, and finding meaning in the modern world. lifeexamined.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Jonathan Bastian
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    324
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jonathan Bastian
  • Show Website
    Life Examined

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