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PODCAST

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Spencer Greenberg

Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you"ll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math,

science social sciences

All Episodes

00:59:38

Is giving people a sense of agency better than giving...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/03/08

Read the full transcript here. Can giving people a sense of agency and dignity be better than giving them access to food, shelter, clothing, or cash? And what exactly can be done in practice to expand human agency? How does the value of agency-oriented interventions compare to the value of more tangible interventions? How robust are the findings about all of the above in light of the replication crisis? In general, how much confidence should we place (with or without the replication crisis) in the

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01:06:56

Are you working on the most important problem in your...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/03/01

Read the full transcript here. How are curiosity and innovation connected? What's the most important problem in your field? And are you working on it? Why or why not? Is curiosity the best heuristic — either for an individual or for society at large — for finding valuable problems to work on? What mental models do people tend to use by default? How much is an academic degree worth these days? What are some alternatives to degrees that could count as valid credentials, i.e., as unfakeable (or

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01:32:52

How huge a deal is climate change, really? (with...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/02/22

Read the full transcript here. How huge a deal is climate change, really? What's the right metric for determining how bad climate change effects will be? How do the forecasts made by climate experts differ from those made by superforecasters? Which pieces of the climate change puzzle are we absolutely sure about right now, and which pieces are still speculative or under investigation? Where can we find trustworthy information about climate change? How can we navigate conversations about these

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01:05:10

Becoming a policy entrepreneur (with Tom Kalil)

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/02/15

Read the full transcript here. What is a "policy entrepreneur"? Can people become policy entrepreneurs if they're not already a political office holder? Aside from literally speaking to the POTUS, what are some ways that policy entrepreneurs can make progress on their goals? Why is it so hard for some people to articulate actionable plans that would accomplish their goals? What is market shaping? Why do some government departments have no budget for R&D?Tom Kalil is Chief Innovation Officer at

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01:00:42

How to build your second brain (with Tiago Forte)

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/02/08

Read the full transcript here. What is a "commonplace book"? What traits are desirable in "second brain" tools? What are some common mistakes people make in note-taking? What should we take notes about? What are some useful methods of organizing, distilling, remembering, and taking action on notes? How much information should we hold in our brains and how much should be offloaded to a second brain? What are creative convergence and divergence?Tiago Forte is the founder of Forte Labs and one of the

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01:00:18

Does every language have a word for depression? (with...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/02/01

Read the full transcript here. Why is depression on the rise globally? We've all heard that social media is a big cause of depression, but what other factors might we have overlooked? Why are anxiety and depression so closely linked? What is group interpersonal therapy? How does it differ from cognitive behavioral therapy and other treatment modalities? Which languages lack an equivalent to the word "depression"?Sean Mayberry is a former diplomat and social marketer who believes that treating

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00:55:56

What things in life *shouldn't* we optimize? (with...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/01/25

Read the full transcript here. Why should we not optimize some things in life? Should some things (e.g., interpersonal relationships) be "off-limits" for optimization? How much time spent being unproductive is good for us? What can we learn by paying attention to our moods? Does science make progress and produce knowledge too slowly? Why is research methodology applied so inconsistently, especially in the social sciences?Christie Aschwanden is author of Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can

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01:26:37

How can we make science more trustworthy? (with...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/01/19

Read the full transcript here. How can we make science more trustworthy? When scientists break into factions around a particular topic, whom should we trust, and why? Why did trust in science as an institution plummet drastically during COVID? What is the state of the evidence for the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, or vitamin D against COVID? Why is controlling for variables so difficult? What evidence is there for how well IQ represents intelligence and predicts useful things

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01:17:39

Living a life of service to others (with Tasshin...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/01/12

Read the full transcript here. What is a "quasi-monk"? How hard is it to govern one's own speech and thoughts? What is "maximum deep benefit"? And how does it differ from effective altruism? How can we best direct our energy, time, and resources to do good in the world? Should more people become monks and/or adopt a lifestyle of service to others?Tasshin Fogleman is an extremely online wandering quasi-monk on indefinite pilgrimage for the benefit of all beings. He lives a simple life, dedicating

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01:38:52

Mapping metaethics (with Lance Bush)

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2023/01/05

Read the full transcript here. What is metaethics? Is moral objectivism the same thing as moral realism? When philosophers examine sentences like "Murder is wrong", are they generally more interested in (1) the role that the language is playing in a social interaction (e.g., that it's an imperative or that it expresses an emotion) or (2) the concepts themselves and their relations? Could it be the case that all moral statements are false? What do we know about how people actually use moral language

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01:09:15

Do organizations have to get slower as they grow?...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/12/28

Read the full transcript here. Why do organizations get slower as they grow? What can organizations learn from slime molds? What are the advantages of top-down organization versus bottom-up organization, and vice versa? How can organizations encourage serendipity? What use are doorbells in jungles? Why is it so hard for organizations to set a "north star" that is at once plausible, coherent, and good?Alex Komoroske has over a decade of experience in the tech industry as a product manager focusing

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00:54:26

How can we un-break politics? (with Magnus Vinding)

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/12/21

Read the full transcript here. How can we as individuals and as societies un-break politics? What is the two-step ideal of reasoned politics? How might this ideal apply to specific political issues, like free speech? Is it possible to reach agreement or even compromise on political issues that are rooted in intrinsic values? How can we reduce our own political biases? Are there some political issues which must always or by definition be zero-sum, or can all issues conceivably become

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01:16:47

Why capitalism doesn't live up to its promises (with...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/12/14

Read the full transcript here. Why doesn't capitalism seem to be living up to its promises of free and fair competition, low prices, and high quality goods and services (at least in Western nations)? What did Adam Smith fail to foresee about the ways economic systems would change on the way to 2022? What is "common ownership", and what effects does it have on economies? What interventions should be implemented to keep an economy healthy? Is it easier to put pressure on business leaders or

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00:53:42

Anti-interoperability, vendor lock-in, and high...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/12/07

Read the full transcript here. What is interoperability? What counts as "unauthorized" access to computers or parts of computers? If the rendered design of a web page is copyrighted, then does blocking ads on that page count as copyright infringement by creating a derivative product? Does Facebook really want what's best for its users? Is Google evil? Could blockchain-based solutions provide much-needed privacy or interoperability? Why doesn't the U.S. government (for example) fight harder to

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01:11:43

Separating the sinner from the sin (with Khomotso...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/11/30

Read the full transcript here. What is a criminal label? What implications should criminal labels have (or not) for a person's future? To what extent are the long-term social effects considered as part of the sentence for a crime (e.g., not only considering sending a person to prison for 5 years but also considering how likely they are to be shunned socially or to be prevented from working certain kinds of jobs after their release)? How does the concept of dignity differ from the concept of rights

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03:24:44

The FTX catastrophe (with Byrne Hobart, Vipul Naik,...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/11/28

What the heck happened with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried? Were there early warning signs that most people failed to notice? What could've been done differently, and by whom? What effects will this have on the EA movement going forward?Timestamps:00:01:37 — Intro & timeline00:51:48 — Byrne Hobart01:39:52 — Vipul Naik02:18:35 — Maomao Hu02:41:19 — Marcus Abramovitch02:49:38 — Ozzie Gooen03:21:40 — Wrap-up & outroByrne Hobart writesThe Diff, a newsletter covering inflections in finance and tech,

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00:54:50

How to find out what people in rural communities...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/11/23

Read the full transcript here. What is the field of development? What are the differences between rapid and participatory rural appraisal? Under what conditions should qualitative surveys be preferred over quantitative and vice versa? What is participatory mapping? How has the field of development changed over the last few decades? Why do people get taller when sanitation improves?Robert Chambers is a British academic and development practitioner. He spent his academic career at the Institute of

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00:59:44

Building healthy relationships (with Jayson Gaddis)

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/11/16

Read the full transcript here. What are the main categories of interpersonal relationship problems? What's really going on when most people say they have a "communication" problem? What are the criteria for being a good listener? What's the "right" amount of conflict to have in a healthy relationship? How can we best express our wants and needs? What sorts of requests are reasonable (or not) to make of our relationship partners? People can get along just fine when they differ on little things, like

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01:17:16

Bringing rationality into politics (with Elizabeth...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/11/09

Read the full transcript here. How do campaign and election dynamics affect the sorts of people that politicians court and the kinds of platforms they build? How well can we really know non-voters' preferences? What would your life be like if your most treasured belief turned out to be false? What are all the ramifications of voting against your own party? To what extent is "political capital" a real, legit thing? Do politicians actually manage to get anything useful done despite the constant

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01:47:09

Sex workers — empowered, or victims? (with Melissa...

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg ·

2022/11/02

Read the full transcript here. Content warning: Please be aware that rape and sexual abuse are discussed in this episode. If you are particularly sensitive to these issues, then please take care when listening.How have identity politics and social media changed sex work? To what extent is sex work work? Under what conditions is a sex worker a victim of abuse? Why does rape seem so much worse than other kinds of physical abuse? Does an increase in access to sex workers necessarily cause an increase

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308 results

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