Seize the Moment Podcast

On episode 145, we welcome former U.S. army officer and paratrooper Gus Lee to discuss the significance of cultivating moral courage, why it's distinct from physical bravery, anger being a mask for fear and weakness rather than a strength, the practical steps to becoming courageous, the negative, life outcomes to persistent selfish tendencies, what Aristotle and Plato can teach us about the good life, becoming self-governing, why anger is actually a form of fear and how to overcome it, and true courageousness being the desire to conquer your fears in the service of others. Gus Lee, bestselling author of Courage: The Backbone of Leadership and China Boy, is a nationally recognized leadership and character advancement expert who has worked in or consulted to 50 professions and industries. A former corporate chief operating officer, chief learning officer, government senior executive, West Point's first Chair of Character Development, U.S. Senate ethics investigator, acting deputy attorney general, supervising deputy district attorney, university assistant dean, U.S. Army officer and paratrooper, he trains and coaches through his company, Leaders of Character, LLC, and writes at guslee.net. His newest book, available now, is called The Courage Playbook: Five Steps to Overcome Your Fears and Become Your Best Self. Gus Lee | ► Website | https://www.guslee.net/about/ ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/gus.lee.3 ► Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/gus-lee-0a989612 ► The Courage Playbook Link | https://amzn.to/3AZY8yE Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 144, we welcome Andrew Scull to discuss the history of psychiatry and the competing perspectives of the origins of mental illness, the chemical imbalance myth and the various genetic and environmental aspects of depression, why mental health is better classified along dimensional lines rather than boxed into categories, the pharmaceutical industry's decision to curtail further research into mental illness, the myth of the mentally ill brain, the limits of genetic and neuroscientific research into emotional disorders, the stigma attached to the biological view of psychiatry, the bio-psycho-social model of mental health being the best explanatory model available, and Andrew's take on the future of psychiatry and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Andrew Scull is an award-winning author, sociologist, historian of psychiatry, and distinguished Professor of Sociology and Science Studies. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton before going to the University of California San Diego. He won the Roy Porter Medal for lifetime contribution to the history of medicine and the Eric Carlson award for lifetime contributions to the history of psychiatry. His books include Museums of Madness, Decarceration, Madhouses, Mad-Doctors, and Madmen, Social Order/Mental Disorder, and many more. His latest book, Desperate Remedies tells the story of psychiatry in the United States from the 19th-century asylum to 21st-century psychopharmacology. Andrew Scull | ► Psychology Today | https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/andrew-scull-phd ► Desperate Remedies Book Link | https://amzn.to/3wWzrSK Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 143, we welcome Moshe Hoffman to discuss game theory and its applications to real-world decision-making, the dove/hawk game and why we don't need to calculate value quantitatively to pursue goals, cultural evolution and why morals don't need to be objectively true for us to subscribe to them, short term vs long term optimization and our tendency to sacrifice the latter for the former, how the incentive structure in capitalistic societies fosters greed and predatory behavior, the important role of emotions in decision-making, and how preferences and our desires to attain them are cultivated. Moshe Hoffman is a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, a research fellow at MIT's Sloan School of Management, and a lecturer at Harvard's department of economics. His research focuses on using game theory, models of learning and evolution, and experimental methods to decipher the motives that shape our social behavior, preferences, and ideologies. His newest book, co-authored with Erez Yoeli, is called Hidden Games: The Surprising Power of Game Theory to Explain Irrational Human Behavior. Moshe Hoffman | ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/moshe_hoffman ► Google Scholar | https://bit.ly/3AsLI2j ► Hidden Games Book Link | https://amzn.to/3wARZaN Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 142, we welcome Steve Magness to discuss the short-term benefits and long-term costs of authoritarian coaching, the importance of distinguishing between the variations of pain to assess whether you're in danger or could continue, cultivating positive self-talk in the form of second and third person speech to manage your inner-critic for better results, Brad Johnson's positive relationship with coach Jon Gruden and what made it so, real toughness as comprised of the willingness to teach and respect everyone on your team, how demanding coaches sometimes last for a long time despite having poor relationships with their players, the four pillars of toughness, perfectionism engendering emotional and physical burnout, and the roles autonomy and self-knowledge play in fostering resilience. Steve Magness is a world-renowned expert on performance, well-being, and sustainable success. He is coauthor of the best selling books, Peak Performance and The Passion Paradox. In his coaching practice, Steve works with executives, entrepreneurs, and athletes on their performance and mental skills. In addition, Steve's expertise on elite sport and performance has been featured in The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, Business Insider, and ESPN The Magazine. His newest book, out now, is called Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness. Steve Magness | ► Website | http://www.stevemagness.com/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/stevemagness ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/stevemagness ► Do Hard Things Book Link | https://amzn.to/3A50hZC Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 141, we welcome philosopher Skye Cleary to discuss existential authenticity and the philosophy of Simone de Beauvoir, the importance of cultivating inter-subjectivity for healthy relationships, why nihilism is a lazy response to the world, how the argument of human nature is a bad-faith resistance to the obligation of fighting for structural changes, the erroneous belief that our impulsive sides encompass our authentic selves, marriage as a misogynistic construct and thinking about progressive alternatives/ways to improve it, and why Simone de Beauvoir continues to be relevant for social justice and activism. Skye C. Cleary, PhD is a philosopher and writer. She teaches at Columbia University, Barnard College, and the City University of New York, and is the author of Existentialism and Romantic Love and co-editor of How to Live a Good Life. Cleary's writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Aeon, The Times Literary Supplement, TED-Ed, and The Los Angeles Review of Books, among other outlets. She won the 2017 New Philosopher Writers' Award and was a 2021 MacDowell Fellow. Her newest book, available everywhere on August 16, 2022 is called How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment. Skye Cleary | ► Website | https://skyecleary.com/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/Skye_Cleary ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/skye_cleary ► How to Be Authentic Book Link | https://bit.ly/3QoUXqW Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 140, we welcome back Mutah "Napoleon" Beale and Sulaiman Jenkins to follow up with them about their experiences after releasing Mu's biography 'Life is Raw', Napoleon's time in the music industry and why he felt more comfortable around gangsters than musics executives, beginning the Mu2Q podcast and what he appreciates about podcasting, what he would tell his younger self just breaking into the music business, having 'Life is Raw' exhibited in the Universal Hip Hop Museum, Sulaiman's academic journey and his recent post, experiencing racism outside of the US, how hip-hop evolved over the years and the importance of socially conscious rap music, creating 'Life is Raw' to inspire and empower individuals living in difficult circumstances, and Sulaiman's love and passion for hip-hop. Mutah Beale, also known as Napoleon, is a former member of Tupac's rap group Outlawz. Mutah has since converted to Islam and is now a motivational speaker and he is the author of the book, Life is Raw: The Story of a Reformed Outlaw. Mutah also hosts the podcast MU2Q with his co-host Q Kwon where they talk about everyday topics from HipHop, 2PAC, Life in LA and Saudi Arabia, and Sports. Sulaiman Jenkins earned his MA in TESOL from NYU's Steinhardt School of Education. He has been in the field of ELT, most notably in Saudi Arabia, for more than 14 years. Sulaiman does research in sociolinguistics, contrastive rhetoric, language and culture. He has contributed to academia by way of publishing numerous articles in top peer reviewed journals and he helped ghost write Mutah Beale's new book, Life is Raw. Mutah "Napoleon" Beale | ► MU2Q Podcast | https://t.co/wx3OzyGR3s ► MU2Q Podcast Twitter | https://twitter.com/podcastmu2q ► MU2Q Podcast Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/pod.mu2q/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/MutahNapoleon ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/mutahbeale/ ► Life is Raw Book Link | https://amzn.to/3bDH9ty Sulaiman Jenkins | ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/sulaimanjenkins ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/sulaimanjenkinsbk/ ► Life is Raw Book Link | https://amzn.to/3bDH9ty Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 139, we welcome David Swift to discuss the pervasive myth of identities, how politicians and pundits exploit identity politics for personal gain, personal identity conflicts and how class and political views can interfere with each other, understanding why rural voters supported Trump and why calling all of them deplorables isn't the answer, the political views of ordinary people and why it's difficult to neatly place them in a political category, the importance of working toward improving the material circumstances of marginalized groups as opposed to engaging in performative art like virtue signaling, and how social media fuels extremist perspectives. David Swift is a historian and writer based in London who specializes on the history and contemporary politics of the British Left, particularly in relation to race, class, gender and popular culture. He has researched and taught at several universities in the UK and abroad. His first book, A Left for Itself, was released by the radical publisher Zero Books in 2019. His newest book, available now, is called The Identity Myth: Why We Need to Embrace Our Differences to Beat Inequality. David Swift | ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/davidswift87 ► The Identity Myth Link | https://amzn.to/3blIJjx ► Google Scholar | https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CODJToQAAAAJ&hl Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 138, we welcome Prof. Gwen Dolske and Rudy Salo of the Good Is in the Details Podcast to discuss their podcast journey, Rudy's discomfort with ambiguity and his hesitation of engaging with philosophy, Gwen's love of existentialism and how it inspired her to pursue an advanced degree in philosophy, whether human nature exists and what science tells us about it, contrasting Gwen's introversion with Rudy's extroversion and their different manifestations, teaching philosophy and how podcasting offers students relatable material to learn it, and why removing gatekeepers on social media is both a blessing and a curse. Gwendolyn Dolske, Ph.D is an author, speaker, and Professor of Philosophy at California State Polytechnic University. Rudy Salo is an infrastructure and transportation finance lawyer, writer, actor, and public speaker. Gwen and Rudy are both hosts of the incredible "Good Is In The Details" podcast. Each episode is a conversation with experts from a variety of fields who can tell us more about what is the good life. Gwendolyn Dolske & Rudy Salo | ► Good Is In The Details Podcast | https://linktr.ee/goodisinthedetailspod ► Twitter (Good Is In The Details) | https://twitter.com/InTheDetailsPod ► Twitter (Gwen) | https://twitter.com/gdolske ► Twitter (Rudy) | https://twitter.com/SaloRudy ► Instagram (Good Is In The Details) |https://www.instagram.com/goodisinthedetailspod ► Instagram (Gwen) | https://www.instagram.com/profdolske ► Instagram (Rudy) | https://www.instagram.com/rudyss77 ► Website (Gwen) | https://profdolske.wordpress.com/ ► Forbes (Rudy) | https://www.forbes.com/sites/rudysalo/?sh=60573c205df8 Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 137, we welcome philosopher Tom Morris to discuss his new book 'The Everyday Patriot', creating ways to overcome political apathy, how democracy and meritocracy were perverted and how to reclaim them, why voting still matters, cultivating a love for family as well as one's country, separating American patriotism from American exceptionalism, how small progress creates major progress, the importance of participating in politics on state and local levels, and the role of public philosophy in fostering societal change. Tom Morris is one of the most active writers and speakers of our day. After an undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill and a PhD in two departments at Yale University, followed by fifteen years as a professor at the University of Notre Dame, Tom launched out into a new adventure as a public philosopher. He is the author of over thirty books, including True Success, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, The Art of Achievement, Philosophy for Dummies, If Harry Potter Ran General Electric, The Stoic Art of Living, The Oasis Within, and Plato's Lemonade Stand. Visit him any time at www.TomVMorris.com where you can discover more resources for your personal quest to understand the world and make it a little better. His newest book, out now, is called The Everyday Patriot: How to be a Great American Now. Tom Morris | ► Website | https://www.tomvmorris.com ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/TomVMorris ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/tom.morris.562329 ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/tomvmorris ► LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-morris-0955474 ► The Everyday Patriot Book Link | https://amzn.to/3ASQojL Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 136, we welcome behavioral scientist Stuart Vyse to discuss the practical benefits of certain delusional beliefs; love-at-first-sight as a defense mechanism to foster romance; whether we can prevent the emotional crash that normally results from idealizing our partners; the mindset of defensive pessimism as a way to reduce the probably of future physical and emotional harm; the benefits of optimistic and idealistic thinking in setting goals and sustaining effort to achieve them; the benefits of perceiving others as having fixed personality traits despite the significant influence of environments on decision-making; the natural illusion of free-will and why people are often averse to considering determinism as a plausible alternative; the downside of hyper-rationality and why some level of delusional thinking is recommended; and the correlation of the belief in free-will with a need to punish others. Stuart Vyse is a behavioral scientist, teacher, and writer. He taught at Providence College, the University of Rhode Island, and Connecticut College. Vyse's book Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition won the 1999 William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is a contributing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, where he writes the "Behavior & Belief" column, and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. His newest book, out now, is called The Uses of Delusion: Why It's Not Always Rational to Be Rational. Psychologist Stuart Vyse's new book, The Uses of Delusion, is about aspects of human nature that are not altogether rational but, nonetheless, help us achieve our social and personal goals. In his book, and in this conversation, Vyse presents an accessible exploration of the psychological concepts behind useful delusions, fleshing out how delusional thinking may play a role in love and relationships, illness and loss, and personality and behavior. Throughout, Vyse strives to answer the question: why would some of our most illogical beliefs be as helpful as they are? Vyse also suggests that evolutionary pressures may have led to the ability to fool ourselves in order to survive. | Stuart Vyse | ► Website | https://stuartvyse.com/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/stuartvyse ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/stuartvyse ► The Uses of Delusion Book | https://amzn.to/3xZ9oda Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast