logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
45m 58s

Cautionary Tales Presents The Dream

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

On The Dream, host Jane Marie gets to know the life coaches and gurus who claim they know the secret to living our best lives. Is it all in our mindset? Or our privilege? Or are we all under a spell?

Tim Harford is joined by Jane Marie to talk about who coaching works least well for. Turns out it’s the exact people who could benefit most from it, according to the industry. Dr. Sherman James and Dr. Arline Geronimus discuss the downsides of positive thinking, bootstrapping, and mindset culture. For some people, striving has negative impacts on health and happiness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Today
Schrödinger's Spy: Businessman, Fraud, or Russian Agent? - with Sam Jones
When the Financial Times uncovered the billion-dollar Wirecard fraud, it seemed like the story was over. But then the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Jan Marsalek, vanished - leaving behind clues that pointed to a double life as a secret agent. In his new podcast Hot Money: Ag ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 3
Missing Fish and Fatal Feasts: Ritual and Ruin at the Sun King’s Table
In the gilded court of Louis XIV, 17th Century France, manners are everything. Where to sit, how to eat, what to wear - any misstep is costly. No one knows this better than François Vatel, the greatest party planner in all of France. Tonight, Vatel must deliver the ultimate banqu ... Show More
42m 18s
Sep 26
Don't Panic! Douglas Adams' Guide to Tomorrow - with Arvind Ethan David
Writer Douglas Adams, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, used science fiction and satire to warn us about potential dangers in our future, from artificial intelligence to social media and animal extinction. In this Cautionary Conversation, Tim is joined by Arvin ... Show More
37m 54s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
S3 E8: Striving Is Bad for Your Health
Who does coaching work least well for? Turns out it’s the exact people who could benefit most from it, according to the industry. Dr. Sherman James and Dr. Arline Geronimus discuss the downsides of positive thinking, bootstrapping, and mindset culture. For some people, striving h ... Show More
37m 16s
Sep 2023
S3 E2: What Ever Happened to Happy Jane?
Despite regular therapy, Jane is in a funk. She and Dann discuss what's happened to them, and what she hopes (and fears) life coaching might do for her — or teach her to do for herself. Jane embarks on a hunt for a professional life coach of her own.See omnystudio.com/listener fo ... Show More
31m 19s
Oct 2023
S3 E7: The Inmates Running the Asylum
Who becomes a life coach? Jane talks to Patrick Sheehan, a researcher who has found a surprising answer: many coaches couldn’t find success elsewhere. Why do people who can’t do teach? We also learn more about Jane’s life coach, her bona fides, and what sets her apart from the sc ... Show More
31m 26s
Jun 2023
Your stories
It starts with you. Those are the words life coach Sam Adams lives by. She also likes to wonder how our lives would be different if we believed the universe was conspiring for us, not against us, as our paranoid minds might be telling us. In this episode, Fearne celebrates 100 mi ... Show More
52m 15s
Sep 2019
The Unhappy Millionaire
How can winning the lottery ruin your life - while contracting an incurable disease feel like 'a gift'? Dr Laurie Santos hears about dreams come true and nightmares realised; and talks with Dr Dan Gilbert about why human happiness isn't defined by these major events in the way we ... Show More
37m 39s
Jan 2024
Michelle Keegan: Imposter Syndrome, boundaries, and puzzles
Imposter syndrome is likely to affect all of us at some point in our life; Michelle Keegan still feels it every time she finishes an acting job. In this chat with Fearne, Michelle talks about her disciplined work ethic, as well as how she’s learnt to cope well with the amount of ... Show More
41m 45s
Oct 2019
How We Misunderstand Privilege
“We’re so caught up in our own sense of not belonging,” says Elaine Welteroth, “that we aren’t even recognizing that we’re all in it together.” The former editor in chief of Teen Vogue and the author of More than Enough joins Elise Loehnen to talk about making space for ourselves ... Show More
44m 4s
Jul 2022
Q: "Are We Born to Work? Or Born to Live?"
Listener Niki Walker has a question... in our busy, career-driven, money-oriented live, are we forgetting to make time for more important things?  In our first episode fielding questions from fans of The Happiness Lab, Dr Laurie Santos looks at the world of work and how we can pr ... Show More
32m 4s
Mar 2019
Amazing Creatures / Dr. Jane Goodall
Dr. Jane Goodall joins me today to take us into the wild and explore consciousness outside and beyond the realm of the human animal. How does understanding consciousness in other species help us understand our place in the web of life? How do we harness this understanding to ensu ... Show More
44m 5s
Mar 2021
#138: Vanessa Bennett and Dené Logan - Cheaper Than Therapy
So excited to have Vanessa and Dené from the podcast Cheaper Than Therapy on this week! Dené is an Associate Psychotherapist in Los Angeles, a Registered Yoga Teacher and Mindfulness Coach. She specializes in offering tools for moving through anxiety, understanding our addictive ... Show More
1h 17m