Steven Pinker and Alan explore the words we use that bind us together, even when asking someone to pass the guacamole. A conversation that explores the surprising ways we have of connecting through language – and why, despite our current crises, some things in the world really have become better.
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Aug 2025
How common knowledge shapes the world | Steven Pinker
Common knowledge is the secret engine of social life, letting us coordinate everything from meet-ups to markets to international diplomacy. In this fascinating talk, experimental cognitive scientist Steven Pinker explores its momentous impact, threading together stories of why au ... Show More
15m 20s
Jan 2022
Impossible (?) Conversations: The Best and Worst of "Woke Culture"
Psychologists Dr. Hector Garcia and Dr. Valerie Tarico join us for a complex, nuanced, and thoughtful conversation about the dying of discourse in a hyper-divided world. When should we speak, and when should we shout? Are we picking the right battles? When should we declare war o ... Show More
56m 35s
Aug 2025
How common knowledge shapes the world | Steven Pinker
Common knowledge is the secret engine of social life, letting us coordinate everything from meet-ups to markets to international diplomacy. In this fascinating talk, experimental cognitive scientist Steven Pinker explores its momentous impact, threading together stories of why au ... Show More
15m 20s
Jan 2021
Can We Build a More Rational World?
Steven Pinker dares to believe that human beings are better off than ever before in human history. A world-renowned linguist, Pinker has dedicated his career to unveiling the ways by which we express our human nature through our language, behaviors, and beliefs. In an era often p ... Show More
1h 14m
Aug 2019
Progress, Despite Everything
Steven Pinker returns for a conversation with Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, and popular science author. He is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, and is known for his advocacy o ... Show More
2h 5m