logo
episode-header-image
Jun 27
37m 42s

The Man who Solved Kindness

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

George Price is on a mission to prove that human kindness is real. He's seen the latest research suggesting any altruism is ultimately selfish and finds it deeply depressing. George decides to learn the mathematics he needs to prove that research wrong, and throws his career, and life, into the quest for complete kindness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Aug 22
Paradise Poisoned: How Utopias Fall Apart
Dore Strauch and Friedrich Ritter make an unconventional couple, united by their contempt for shoes, root vegetables and, above all, society. In 1929 they leave Germany and begin anew on the deserted Galapagos island of Floreana. At first, it feels like a paradise, but soon crack ... Show More
41 m
Aug 15
"Genius Still Unrecognised" - The Worst Poet in the World
William McGonagall's poems are something else. The jarring meter, the banal imagery, the awkward rhymes: they made him a laughing stock in 19th Century Scotland and are still derided to this day. How does someone get that bad at poetry? Or have we been misunderstanding McGonagall ... Show More
40m 3s
Aug 8
Office Hell: The Demise of the Playful Workspace (Classic)
In the early 90s, cutting-edge advertising agency Chiat/Day announced a radical plan, aimed at giving the company a jolt of creative renewal. They would sweep away corner offices and cubicles and replace them with zany open spaces, as well as innovative portable computers and pho ... Show More
38m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
How to Find Hope in a Cynical World
It’s hard to stay hopeful these days. Stanford professor Jamil Zaki has been studying the incredible depth of human kindness for decades, but even he gives in to cynicism when he doubts our ability to be civil and cooperative.  That’s a shame - because shedding cynicism and grasp ... Show More
43m 6s
Apr 2025
Schopenhauer on Ethics (Part One)
On The Basis of Morality (1840), Part III: "The Founding of Ethics," Ch. 5: "Statement and Proof of the Only True Moral Incentive." Everything up to this point in the book has been negative: Morality can't be founded on pure reason as Kant thinks, or on the idea of the good life ... Show More
1h 4m
Jun 2024
Loving oneself and loving others | Carol Gilligan, Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, Richard Wrangham
How much should we really value altruism?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesFrom charity-givers, to those who sacrifice themselves in war for others, we see altrusim and selflessness as virtues to be applauded. Those who take no hee ... Show More
58m 13s
Sep 2024
Survival of the Fittest... or the Kindest?
Some people think they need to be ruthless and selfish to thrive and survive in life. The theories of Charles Darwin are often wrongly interpreted to support this view that being competitive is the key to happiness and success. It isn’t.  Dr Laurie Santos and Dr Jamil Zaki find t ... Show More
33m 13s
May 2024
Amy Schiller, "The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong—And How to Fix It" (Melville House, 2023)
Amy Schiller's The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong—And How to Fix It (Melville House, 2023) makes an attempt to rescue philanthropy from its progressive decline into vanity projects that drive wealth inequality, so that it may support human flourishing as originall ... Show More
38m 36s
Jul 2024
Lance Armstrong: Tour De Fraud | 116
Lance Armstrong’s determination to win helps him survive cancer and become cycling’s biggest star in the early 2000s. But his ruthless desire to be the best leads him to create a secret cheating scheme. It fuels him to a historic Tour de France winning streak—but requires an elab ... Show More
44m 34s
Jun 2020
Action et vérité
On a tous déjà été enlisés dans une histoire. On se trouve des excuses pour ne pas partir, on se trouve des raisons de rester, on vit à côté de soi. Lorine n’est pas de ces filles qui considèrent que tout est figé : elle, elle veut être heureuse coûte que coûte, quitte à trouver ... Show More
42m 48s
Nov 2024
Episode 297: No Pleasure in Meanness (Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find")
David and Tamler face off with the Misfit in Flannery O’Connor’s classic short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” We sort through the biblical allusions, dark comedy, nihilism, and the possibility of grace or rebirth (but whose)? Plus why do motorists dehumanize cyclists? Is it ... Show More
1h 41m
Jun 2
The Price of Revenge
Revenge often feels sweet, but what price do we pay for seeking it out? Researcher James Kimmel, Jr. proposes a radical theory: our desire for vengeance operates like an addiction in the brain. This week, how “revenge addiction” plays out in our everyday lives — and on a global s ... Show More
1h 6m
Nov 2023
The Enlightened Donor: How to Give Charity Wisely
Motivated by compassion and hope, and the shared desire to make the world a better place, the immense amount of charitable giving stands as a testament to the humanity's collective generosity. From aiding those in need to supporting noble causes in art and science, culture and re ... Show More
23m 35s