The Next Big Idea

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BOOKS
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The Next Big Idea is a weekly series of in-depth interviews with the world’s leading thinkers. Join hosts Rufus Griscom and Caleb Bissinger — along with our curators, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink — for conversations that might just change the way you see the world. New episodes every Thursday.

1D AGO

'The Next Big Idea Daily': Take a Nap

Neuroscientist Joseph Jebelli explains how doing nothing might be the best thing you do all day. His new book is The Brain at Rest: How the Art and Science of Doing Nothing Can Improve Your Life. 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter

16 min
5D AGO

SUPER AGERS (Part 2): Eric Topol on Sleep, GLP-1s, and AI

In part two of our interview with Eric Topol, author of the New York Times bestseller Super Agers, we cover how to get a good night's sleep, why one day everyone may take GLP-1s, and how AI is poised to transform medicine. 1️⃣ Missed Part 1? Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 📚 Become an executive member of the Next Big Idea Club, and we'll send you a copy of Super Agers, along with the seven other best books of the year as chosen by our curators: Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink. Use code PODCAST to take 20% off your subscription ✉️ Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter

39 min
JUL 17

SUPER AGERS (Part 1): The Revolutionary New Science of Longevity

For years, cardiologist Eric Topol hunted for the rarest people in America: those over 80 who had never been sick. When he finally found 1,400 of them, he made a shocking discovery. It wasn't their genes. These "super agers" were often the last ones standing in families where everyone else died decades earlier. So what separates people who live into their 80s or 90s feeling great from those who battle chronic disease? In his new book, Super Agers, Eric reveals what the science actually shows, shares practical advice you can use at any age, and takes on the bro scientists selling false promises along the way. This is part one of our interview with Eric. Part two will be available right here next week. If you can't until then, you can listen now on the Next Big Idea app: https://nextbigideaclub.com/app/

1h 9m
JUL 10

GENIUS MYTH: The Dangerous Allure of Rule-Breakers

Sign up for our Substack! Arthur Schopenhauer said, “Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” Thomas Edison famously claimed, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Helen Lewis has a different take entirely. To her, the term genius licenses noxious eccentricities, exasperating ego trips, and downright bad behavior. Sure, plenty of things qualify as acts of genius — Shakespeare’s sonnets, penicillin — but when we pin the genius badge on a person instead of an achievement, we grant them membership in a supposedly superior class. That, Helen says, is the genius myth. She wants to demolish it and, in its place, tell the real story of how breakthroughs happen and who deserves credit.

44 min
JUL 3

Best Of: Life Lessons From Wired Co-Founder Kevin Kelly

Sign up for our daily Substack here! Kevin Kelly has made a career out of looking to the future. He helped pioneer online social networking all the way back in the 1980s, and he co-founded Wired, the magazine devoted to digital technology, when the internet was still an infant. But in his new book, Excellent Advice for Living, he looks backward. It’s a collection of 450 bits of wisdom he wishes he’d known when he was young. Things like “Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points” and “That thing that made you weird as a kid could make you great as an adult—if you don’t lose it.” Today on the show he shares his best advice for building careers, nurturing relationships, solving problems, and finding satisfaction. He also explains why he’s more optimistic than ever about technology (yes, even AI).

51 min
JUN 26

AI FIRST: The Tsunami Is Already Here

AI, according to Andy Sack and Adam Brotman, co-founders of Forum3 and co-authors of the new book AI First, isn't just a neat new tool. It's "a tsunami of technology and capabilities." And if you don't start learning how to use it properly, they say, "you are absolutely gonna be left behind." The problem? Most people are using AI wrong. They're treating it like Google search when it should be treated like "an alien synthetic intelligence that can really reason and think and help you." In this episode, Andy and Adam share the mindset shifts and practical techniques that can help you harness AI to supercharge your productivity, creativity, and capability.

1h 4m
JUN 19

Best Of: Michael Lewis Runs Toward Pleasure

This is one of our favorite conversations from the last year. On the surface, it's an interview we did with Michael Lewis to coincide with the paperback release of Going Infinite, his book about Sam Bankman-Fried and the collapse of FTX. Michael, who spent months hovering over Sam's shoulder, believes he wasn't some malevolent grifter: he was an awkward kid undone by a “pathological ability to foist risk upon other people without asking their permission." But what we love about this episode is that it's not only about the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried. It's also about Michael's approach to writing — and living. He opens up about losing his daughter, shares what draws him to a story, and explains how taking pleasure in the world produces his best work. 🏛️ Check out Michael's latest book, Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service 🎁 Get 25% off a Next Big Idea Club subscription when you use the code PODCAST at https://nextbigideaclub.com/

1h 12m
JUN 12

How Susan Cain Found Her Voice

Susan Cain always knew she wanted to be a writer. But her path to becoming one was anything but straightforward. She took a creative writing class in college and came away convinced she wasn’t very talented. So she pivoted: law school, white-shoe firm, eyes set on making partner. Seven years later, a senior partner walked into her office with life-changing news. It wasn’t going to happen. “I burst into tears,” Susan recalls. Three hours later, she quit. Within a week, she enrolled in a creative non-fiction class. A few years after that, despite never having published a word in her life, she sold her first book, Quiet, in a bidding war. Today, she ranks among the most successful non-fiction writers of her generation. In this episode, Susan takes us inside her journey from rejection to literary sensation, revealing the unexpected lessons she learned along the way. Today’s episode first appeared on Author Insider, our newsletter and community for anyone who wants to turn words and ideas into income. Learn more at authorinsider.nextbigideaclub.com. Subscribe to Susan’s Substack, The Quiet Life, at thequietlife.net

45 min

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TRAILER

Season 3: New Ideas, Same Great Taste

The Next Big Idea returns on February 25th.

02/19/2021

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1 min
TRAILER

Introducing The Next Big Idea

The Next Big Idea premieres October 15th.

10/01/2019

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2 min

In "Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout," Georgetown professor Cal Newport explains how we have become ensnared in a cycle of frantic busyness that is making us miserable. He then makes the case that a more measured approach to productivity is within reach, illuminating a better, more sustainable, more humane way to work. In Cal's 45-minute podclass, you will discover: • Why IBM's first use of email ended in disaster • How Jane Austen published four masterpiece novels in just five years • Why we should work more like ancient hunter-gatherers • How Georgia O'Keeffe's brilliance emerged in slower seasons • Why you should consider not scaling your business

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COURSES
In "Extra Life," acclaimed science writer Steven Johnson told the remarkable story of the breakthroughs that helped us double our life expectancy in the last century. Now, in "Immortality: A User's Guide," he asks: What will happen if we do it again? Imagine a world where we flip a switch and suddenly everyone can expect to live to 120 or beyond. Some scientists believe this demographic shift is within the realm of possibility, which might seem like good news, but a dramatic extension of the average lifespan could plunge the planet into a maelstrom of unintended consequences and second-order effects. That's why we need to start thinking about the implications of radical life extension now. "Immortality: A User's Guide" takes listeners on a thrilling journey through recent scientific history and reveals the cutting-edge technology that may help us live deep into our second centuries. Featuring insightful conversations with longevity experts, archival footage, immersive sound design, and Johnson's trademark storytelling, Immortality explores the recent paradigm shift in our understanding of aging and wrestles with what we should do, as a society, to prepare for advances in science and technology that may radically transform the potential length of human life.

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SOCIETY & CULTURE
In her book "Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole," acclaimed author and Next Big Idea Club curator Susan Cain invites you to accept more sadness in your life—and be happier for it. Contrary to popular belief, embracing bittersweetness can fuel creativity, connection, productivity, and our sense of self. In Susan’s 40-minute podclass, you will discover: • Why melancholia is possibly the most inspirational state of mind • The scientifically-supported connections between sorrow and creativity • How to transform pain and longing into productive forces • Examples of the bittersweet as a team-building tool • Reasons to have gratitude for our own mortality

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COURSES
In "Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most," New York University psychologist Adam Alter explains how to emerge from any personal, professional, or creative rut — and start blazing a new, more promising trail. In Adam's 30-minute podclass, you will discover: • Which counterintuitive skill helped both Lionel Messi and Andre Agassi achieve greatness • How “the Real Dr. House” simplifies even the trickiest medical diagnoses • Why no one, not even Bob Dylan, is as original as you think • Which three people belong on every creative team • How a two-step process helped both Jackson Pollock and Peter Jackson find success

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COURSES
Celebrated writer John Kaag extracts modern life lessons from the classic works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and William James.

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PHILOSOPHY

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Rufus Griscom

Host

4.4

out of 5

1,212 Ratings

Mind-Expanding Listening

Jul 7

StephinATX1

I’ve been listening to The Next Big Idea since it launched, and it’s consistently my favorite podcast. The authors and ideas are nearly always insightful and challenging. I’ve shared many of the books and ideas with my family, friends and colleagues. This podcast can actually help you improve everything from your relationships, to your productivity, to your health. It’s essential listening.
Thought provoking and inspiring

Jul 6

Danny Boar

This podcast can both get your brain thinking of what’s possible and inspire you to take on the hard work to make those possibilities into realities. Keep up the great work!
Moral ambition

May 22

Longaway

Thank you. Inspiring podcast.
The best

12/08/2024

Noeleon

I listen to a lot of podcasts about various topics. This is by far one of the best. Erudite, articulate, very enlightening and educational and also impartial and evidence-based.

The Next Big Idea is a weekly series of in-depth interviews with the world’s leading thinkers. Join hosts Rufus Griscom and Caleb Bissinger — along with our curators, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink — for conversations that might just change the way you see the world. New episodes every Thursday.