Seize the Moment Podcast

On episode 135, we welcome philosopher Christian Miller to discuss the importance of honesty, why people prefer that virtue in relationships over others, the replication crisis in psychology and why it doesn't necessarily mean that researchers were dishonest, honesty as a seldom researched construct, being honest for the wrong reasons and what the right ones are, utilizing research-backed methods to encourage honesty, self-deception and how it precludes honest behavior, personal benefits from honesty, honesty as an evolved trait and how it may foster connection, and bridging the is and ought gap in philosophy by asking if research can provide us with evidence that being more honest helps create a better society. Christian Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, science contributor at Forbes, and Past Director of the Character Project, which researched moral character from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, and theology. He is the author of "The Character Gap: How Good Are We?" and "Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue." | Christian Miller | ► Website | https://www.christianbmiller.com ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/CharacterGap ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/charactergap ► The Character Gap Book | https://amzn.to/3JxkISN ► Honesty Book | https://amzn.to/3xzuqin 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

On episode 134, we welcome Darryl Stickel to discuss the elements of building trust in various types of relationships, the levers of trust - integrity, benevolence, ability, how to foster all three and why we need to, confirmation bias and why positive perceptions of others become more positive over time and negative ones become increasingly more negative, our overly positive self-conceptions and how challenging them helps improve our relationships, generosity and vulnerability begetting more generosity and vulnerability and the importance of becoming less self-protective, and the value of empathy and learning to take others' behaviors less personally. Darryl Stickel has devoted his career to understanding trust, what it is, how it functions, and how to increase it. He holds a PhD in Business from Duke University. Before founding Trust Unlimited in 2001, he was a consultant at McKinsey and Company, the world-renowned global management consulting firm. He has helped leaders build trust in a wide range of business and personal environments, including financial services, telecoms, hi-tech, families, and the Canadian Military in Afghanistan. He is also a professor at the Luxembourg School of Business teaching in the MBA program and in their executive education program. His new book, out now, is called Building Trust: Exceptional Leadership in an Uncertain World. | Darryl Stickel | ►Website | https://www.trustunlimited.com/about/ ►Building Trust Book Link | https://bit.ly/3zCGQIX 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 133, we welcome Avram Alpert to discuss creating a good-enough world as opposed to one that solely benefits greatness, the myth of meritocracy and how it engenders biased outcomes, the talent that's frequently overlooked in Western culture, the Buddhist belief that life is inherently unsatisfactory despite how wealthy or successful you are, the future-oriented mindset of obsessive striving and how it forms a barrier to momentary pleasures, why the good-enough world isn't idealistic and would present problems (albeit more tractable ones), why communism failed and democratic socialism can succeed, and why everyone eventually suffers if most of us do. Avram Alpert is a writer and educator. He is a fellow at The New Institute, Hamburg and has taught at Princeton and Rutgers. He has also written for publications including Aeon, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Truthout, and the Brooklyn Rail. He is the author of Global Origins of the Modern Self, from Montaigne to Suzuki (2019), A Partial Enlightenment: What Modern Literature and Buddhism Can Teach Us About Living Well Without Perfection (2021), and his newest book is called The Good-Enough Life (2022). | Avram Alpert | ►Website | https://www.avramalpert.com ► Twitter| https://twitter.com/avramalpert ► The Good-Enough Life Link | https://bit.ly/3xcyipc 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 132, we welcome former hip-hop journalist Loupy D to discuss his career in the music industry, his relationship with Notorious B.I.G. and being impressed with his character when they initially met, meeting and photographing 2Pac during the 2Pacalypse Now album release party, NFTs and blockchain technology, the creation of hip-hop as a tool to unite and foster empathy through storytelling, the nuance of rap music as well as the misogyny in its varied manifestations, working for Kronick magazine and interviewing the Wu-Tang Clan, and what it was like to discover that Biggie was shot the day before Loupy was to interview him for the magazine. Loupy D (Lawrence E. Dotson) is a writer, photographer, and NFT Creator and Collector. He took photos of the late great Tupac Shakur and in the time he spent as a journalist, he interviewed Biggie Smalls, the Wutang Clan, Three 6 Mafia, Cash Money and others, and he was the managing editor at Kronick Magazine, one of the most well known and successful hip hop indie magazines for 10 years. Loupy D (Lawrence Dotson) | ► Website | https://loupyd.com/ ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/loupyd ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/loupyd ► Linktree | https://linktr.ee/loupyd 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 131, we welcome Daniel Bergner to discuss his new book 'The Mind and the Moon'; the history of psychotropic medications and their limitations; the neurological underpinnings of mental illness; psychotic disorders and the hearing voices movement; the anti-psychiatry movement and R.D. Laing's imperative to take hallucinations seriously; psychiatry's history of subduing symptoms instead of creating pathways to live well with them, and how we can begin to think about doing so; the hype about psychedelics for mental health treatment and why therapy is often needed as an auxiliary; the emotional significance of feeling connected to others and the broader cosmos; and why we still have so much further to go in understanding the mind/brain connection. Daniel Bergner is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of five previous books of award-winning nonfiction: the New York Times bestselling Sing for Your Life, What Do Women Want?, The Other Side of Desire, In the Land of Magic Soldiers, and God of the Rodeo. His writing has also appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, Harper's Magazine, Mother Jones, Talk, and the New York Times Book Review. His newest book, coming out on May 17, 2022, is called The Mind and the Moon: My Brother's Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches. Daniel Bergner | ► Website | https://danielbergner.com ► The Mind and the Moon | https://amzn.to/3FR4aDR 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 130, we welcome Professor Bryonn Bain to discuss his new book 'Rebel Speak'; critical race theory and its principles; the history of racism and how it became codified into law; the critics of CRT and their desire to maintain a sense of purity about American history and our legal system; the American prison system as a form of modern slavery; whether free-market capitalism can coincide with prison reform; addiction and mental illness among the prison population and alternative ways of coping with their struggles; Bryonn's love of hip-hip and having the opportunity to work with Chuck D of Public Enemy; speaking with Harry Belafonte and Dolores Huerta; and the how to utilize CRT to begin to break down the barriers of sex, race, gender, and class. Bryonn Bain is a prison activist, artist, scholar, and author of four books including The Ugly Side of Beautiful: Rethinking Race and Prisons in America (Third World Press) — currently banned in Texas prisons. He is the Director of Prison Education Program at UCLA. You can earn more about his internationally acclaimed hip hop theater and spoken word multimedia production, Lyrics from Lockdown (executive produced by Harry Belafonte), and his Emmy Award–winning work on LA Stories, at www.bryonn.com. His newest book, out now, is called Rebel Speak: A Justice Movement Mixtape. Bryonn Bain | ► Website | https://www.bryonn.com/ ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/bryonn_bain ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/bryonnbain ► Rebel Speak | https://amzn.to/3N303Hp 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 129, we welcome Dr. Sara Manning Peskin to discuss her new book 'A Molecule Away from Madness'; the fascinating stories of the scientists who discovered the molecules that cause neurological diseases and their cures, including Alois Alzheimer (who discovered the tangles and plaques of Alzheimer's) and Joseph Goldberger (who helped discover the cause of pellagra by ingesting pills of poop with others in "filth parties"; how those scientists found the courage and resolve to fight for their discoveries when their colleagues mocked and ignored them; how diets, genes, antibodies, and proteins create neurological illnesses; Abraham Lincoln's drastic personality change from mercury-laced prescription pills; the difference between Alzheimer's and Dementia, and pseudo-dementia in the chronically mentally ill; how our tools have helped us distinguish the subtle differences of various disorders and their implications for treatment; the profound personal stories of individuals struggling with those ailments; and why the behavior related to neurological illnesses is often excused while we tend to lack empathy for those struggling with mental illness. Sara Manning Peskin, MD, MS is an assistant professor of clinical neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is part of both the Penn Memory Center and the Penn Frontotemporal Dementia Center. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her new book, out now, is called A Molecule Away from Madness. Sarah Manning Peskin | ► Website | https://saramanningpeskin.com/ ► A Molecule Away from Madness | https://amzn.to/3kvTMaY 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

On episode 128, we welcome philosopher William Irwin to discuss his new book 'The Meaning of Metallica', the band's rise to fame and why so many identified with their music, 'Master of Puppets' and the insidious nature of addiction, the narrator's resentment in 'Unforgiven' toward others and how authenticity can become stifled by the collective, vulnerability and discovering the need for intimacy in 'Unforgiven II' and 'Unforgiven III', the fantasy and escapism of romance and drug dependence, grandiosity in dream chasing and why we often sacrifice love for the sake of empty recognition, and the significance of pride in fostering a healthy self-conception. William Irwin is Professor of Philosophy at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and is best known for originating the "philosophy and popular culture" book genre with Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing in 1999 and The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer in 2001. William's latest books are Little Siddhartha (2018), God Is a Question, Not an Answer (2018), and Both/And. His newest book, out now, is called The Meaning of Metallica: Ride the Lyrics. William Irwin | ► Website | https://staff.kings.edu/sites/wtirwin ► Email | williamirwin@kings.edu ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/williamirwin38 ► The Meaning of Metallica | https://amzn.to/3vEtVm7 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

On episode 127, we welcome philosopher Mark White to discuss the philosophy of Thor; how his hammer was used to distinguish and judge worthiness; the similarities and differences between the various schools of ethics - virtue ethics, deontology, and utilitarianism; the golden mean of virtue ethics and its allowance of moral imperfection; the necessity of self-doubt to moral character and the balance of maintaining it with a sense of pride; the importance of not taking your partner for granted and continuing to improve; and Thor's epiphany and love of humanity, exploring how they differentiated him from other gods. Mark D. White is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, where he teaches courses in philosophy, economics, and law. He is the author of several books—A Philosopher Reads Marvel Comics' Civil War: Exploring the Moral Judgment of Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man (Ockham Publishing), The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero and Batman and Ethics (both from Wiley-Blackwell), The Manipulation of Choice: Ethics and Libertarian Paternalism, The Illusion of Well-Being: Economic Policymaking Based on Respect and Responsiveness, and The Decline on the Individual: Reconciling Autonomy with Community (all from Palgrave Macmillan) —as well as over 60 academic journal articles and book chapters in the intersections between economics, philosophy, and law. Mark is the editor of Palgrave's Perspectives from Social Economics series. His newest book is called A Philosopher Reads Marvel Comics' Thor: If They Be Worthy. | Mark D. White | ►Website | https://www.profmdwhite.com ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/profmdwhite ► Twitter| https://twitter.com/profmdwhite ► A Philosopher Reads Marvel Comics' Thor: If They Be Worthy Link | To Be Determined (Update Coming Soon!) 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

Listen as Christian Madsbjerg, expert in sensemaking and data collection, discusses the limitations of data-driven decision-making, the flaws of mental health apps, and the importance of analytical empathy in understanding human phenomena. He also explores the role of literature in sensemaking and the shortcomings of the DSM in comprehending mental illness. Madsbjerg emphasizes the need to suspend judgment, integrate various perspectives, and understand others with care and kindness.