Seize the Moment Podcast

On episode 97, Leon chats with philosopher Julian Baggini about the philosophy and wisdom of David Hume, focusing on why he believed we could accept knowing things without knowing their foundations, the natural limitations of reason and need for intellectual humility, the importance of understanding human nature in order to form a coherent system of ethics, the incoherence of the concept of free will and how we can maintain a sense of agency even if our choices are causally determined, the complexity and inherent contradictions of human personalities, why the rational and emotional aspects of our minds are systems that need and check one another, and Hume's psychological perceptions, which were later supported by modern scientific research. | Julian Baggini | ► Website | https://www.julianbaggini.com/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/JulianBaggini ► Books | https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691205434/the-great-guide 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 96, we welcome James Shakhnovich and James Moreno to discuss drug addiction and hear their stories, how addiction is linked to trauma, the shame and guilt addicts feel despite the common misconception that they're solely selfish, utilizing character development to overcome addiction, why "once an addict, always an addict" is a myth, how both men struggled with setbacks and used their community at Dynamite Youth Center for support, and the lessons they have for others coping with drug or alcohol addiction. Dynamite Youth Center | ► Website | https://www.dycinc.org/ ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/dynamiteyouthcenter/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/dynamicyouthinc ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dynamiteyouthcenter/ ► Phone | 718-376-7923 James Moreno | ► Website | https://oceansidemusicnow.com/home ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/oceansidemusicnow/ ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/oceansidemusicnow/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/Oceanside_Band 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 95, Leon chats with philosopher Andy Norman about mental immunity and how to reason well, what ideologies are and what makes them toxic, the responsibility each of us have to become rational thinkers and why, ethically, we can't just believe what we want to, how repetition fuels delusional beliefs, how we can remain hopeful and optimistic without fooling ourselves, human nature and why it's less awful than we believe, effective teaching methods and how Leon's friendship with Dr. Tim Stroup helped him become more open minded, the ways in which we resist facing reality, why a belief's practical outcomes contribute to its validity as much as its truthfulness, and why reasoning together, as opposed to against one another, can help us create a better world. Andy Norman - ► Website | https://andynorman.org/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/drandyno ► Books | https://www.amazon.com/Mental-Immunity-Infectious-Mind-Parasites-Search-ebook/dp/B08G1LQTFG. 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 94, we welcome cognitive neuroscientist Christian Jarrett to discuss what comprises a personality, the positive and negative traits according to The Big 5 Factor Model, how the environment affects one's traits, why it's important that one's personality is still malleable in adulthood, the methods to increase positive traits and decrease negative ones like neuroticism, why it's difficult to accept that personalities aren't stable over time, how diseases can change personalities, and how black and white thinking can make us averse to the complexity of human cognition and behavior. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, Christian Jarrett is Deputy Editor of Psyche, a global digital magazine that illuminates the human condition: https://psyche.co. Christian has written about psychology and neuroscience for publications across the world, including BBC Future, WIRED, New York magazine, New Scientist, GQ Italia and The Guardian. He was the founding editor and creator of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, presenter of their PsychCrunch podcast, and an award-winning journalist on The Psychologist magazine. His books include The Rough Guide to Psychology and Great Myths of The Brain. Today we'll discussing his newest book, BE WHO YOU WANT: Unlocking The Science of Personality Change. Christian Jarrett | ► Website | https://psychologywriter.org.uk/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/Psych_Writer ► Books | https://www.amazon.com/Who-You-Want-Unlocking-Personality/dp/150117469X 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 93, Alen and Leon speak about how anxiety has held them back in the past, the difference between common episodic anxiety and anxiety disorders, performance anxiety and how they used the fear of disappointing each other to push past it and create the podcast, the ways they self-sabotaged in their relationships due to rejection anxieties, the winner effect and the importance of focusing on the smaller victories for continued success, utilizing rational thinking to manage anxiety, the anxious temperament and inherent inability to completely overcome one's anxiety, and why people struggling with anxiety aren't necessarily abnormal. 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 92, Alen and Leon discuss the book The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef, focusing on how to cultivate an open-mind, the benefits and pitfalls of self-deception, holding your identity loosely, the right ways to interpret critical feedback, how to develop short-term rewards for long-term goals, the importance of feeling pride for the person you're becoming, Darwin's dual theory of natural selection and sexual selection and admitting that he was wrong about evolution, Alen's journey from defensiveness and suspicion to learning how to consider alternative perspectives, Leon's intellectual overconfidence as indicated by the results of an objective, certainty and validity test, and why the scout mindset is a continual process rather than a destination. The Scout Mindset | ► Website/Book Link | https://juliagalef.com/ 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 91, we welcome author Michael Shermer to discuss why and how humans come to believe in anything, our difficulty with understanding randomness and how it contributes to the belief in improbable conspiracy theories, the harms of cancel culture, combating misinformation and bad arguments with better ones, why we should become better public speakers instead of silencing opposing views, using Socratic questioning rather than argumentation to increase the chance of altering a belief, the Jordan Peterson controversy regarding pronoun use, and Leon's clinical practice. Michael Shermer is a science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and Editor in Chief of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. He has written many books, the latest of which is called Giving the Devil his Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist and he's the host of the largely popular podcast, The Michael Shermer Show. Michael Shermer | ► Podcast | https://www.skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show/ ► Website | https://michaelshermer.com/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/michaelshermer ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/michaelshermer1/?hl=en ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/Michael.Brant.Shermer ► Books | https://michaelshermer.com/giving-the-devil-his-due/ 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 90, we welcome author Mohamedou Ould Slahi to recount his imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay and discuss black and white thinking in the American narrative of the good guys vs. the bad guys, why he still loves Americans and can see the good in them, America's descent into fascism, the importance of applying the rule of law to both American and foreign citizens, the role of dehumanization in sadism and torture, defeating racial stereotypes, why he chose to forgive the American agents and guards who tormented him for 20 years, working on the biographical film The Mauritanian, and what he learned about the meaning of life from his harrowing experience. Mohamedou Ould Slahi is a Mauritanian man who was detained at Guantánamo Bay detention camp without charge from 2002 until his release on October 17, 2016. Slahi wrote a memoir in 2005 while imprisoned, which the U.S. government declassified in 2012. His memoir, titled Guantanomo Diary, was later published in 2015 and the new movie, The Mauritanian, which is out now, is based on the events of that time, his memoir and his experience. Mohamedou Ould Slahi | ► IMDB | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4761112/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/MohamedouOuld ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/mohamedououldsalahi ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013967859228 ► Amazon| https://www.amazon.com/Mauritanian-originally-published-Guant%C3%A1namo-Diary/dp/0316282545 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 89, we welcome science fiction writer Christopher Mark Rose on to discuss his new story: God on a Bad Night, artificial intelligence and how it can change our relationships, the flaws of the multiverse interpretation of quantum physics, the ethical questions of creating new universes, how science fiction provides a platform for spreading philosophical ideas, and whether or not it matters if we're living in a simulation. Christopher Mark Rose is an author and owner of the blog curiousful. He works at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, and is a member of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. He writes mainly about speculative fiction and wrote a story in the book Philosophy Through Science Fiction Stories titled God on a Bad Night. Christopher Mark Rose | ► Blog | https://curiousful.wordpress.com/about/ ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/cchrisrose ► Amazon| https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QZ97R5T/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 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 88, Alen and Leon talk about their favorite podcasts. They discuss what podcasts they listen to for inspiration, to laugh, and to learn. 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