Going Big with Arthur Brooks: Finding the Meaning of Your Life in an Age of Emptiness

Millions of people say life feels empty, even when they’re achieving more than ever. Why is that happening, and how do you reverse it?

In this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry sits down with Arthur C. Brooks — Harvard professor, bestselling author, and one of the world’s leading voices on happiness and meaning — to unpack what Brooks calls the “meaning gap.”

Arthur shares his own journey of reinvention: from professional musician to public policy leader, and then a deliberate pivot into the science of happiness, purpose, love, and faith.

They explore how modern technology can keep people trapped in “complicated problems,” while the biggest human questions live elsewhere — and why so many people feel they can’t even ask the right questions anymore.

Along the way, Arthur gives listeners practical tools they can use immediately: a simple decision framework (excitement vs. fear vs. deadness), daily “phone protocols” that protect relationships, and a concrete way to reconnect with meaning when you’re feeling stuck.

They also discuss Arthur's new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, and his upcoming virtual event tied to the launch.

Join Arthur’s free “The Meaning of Your Life Virtual Experience” on March 27, a live, immersive journey designed around the groundbreaking findings in his new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. Throughout the day, Arthur will be joined by an extraordinary lineup of guests for deep, unscripted conversations that go far beyond the surface. Together, they will pull back the curtain on why the modern world—with its rapid technological and cultural shifts—has effectively rewired our brains to make meaning feel so elusive.

Learn more about The Meaning of Your Life Virtual Experience at themeaningofyourlife.com