The Next Big Idea Daily

Can spiritual practices help us, even if we’re not sure what we believe? In How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion, psychologist David DeSteno explores what rituals surrounding gratitude, care, and loss can teach us about living better. And in The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life, Columbia psychologist Lisa Miller examines what happens in the brain when we experience a deep sense of connection.

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What happens when people start seeing democracy not as the solution, but as the problem? In American Caesar, religion scholar Bradley Onishi examines an emerging alliance of Christian nationalists and technocratic thinkers who believe America needs a strong leader to impose order. Then former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul widens the lens in Autocrats vs. Democrats, exploring how the United States’ relationships with China and Russia have shifted—and what the Cold War can and can’t teach us about today’s competition between political systems. Together, they consider the appeal of concentrated power and the challenges facing democracy at home and abroad. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠

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A chatbot is always available, endlessly patient, and happy to hear about your day. But is that connection—or a convincing imitation? In Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines, MIT’s Sherry Turkle asks what we risk when we turn to machines for companionship and care. Then, in Shared Wisdom: Cultural Evolution in the Age of AI, data scientist Alex Pentland explores how communities learn from one another—and how we might design technology to strengthen that exchange rather than undermine it. Together, they raise a question that’s bigger than what AI can do: What do we still need from each other?⁠⁠⁠⁠

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You’ve hit your goals, kept everyone happy, and earned a little time off. So why doesn’t a weekend away fix the exhaustion? In Breaking Burnout: How High Achievers Break the Success Myths Driving Exhaustion, Overwork, and Burnout, former C-suite executive Nabeela Elsayed examines the ideas about achievement that keep us working past our limits. But understanding exhaustion also means noticing work that rarely gets counted. In her 2023 book Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Claim Our Power, journalist Rose Hackman explores the effort of managing other people’s feelings—and why that burden falls so unevenly. Together, they ask what changes when we stop treating self-sacrifice as part of the job.⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Waiting until things feel safe before making your next move? You might be waiting a while. In Worth the Risk: The Seven Myths That Keep Us from Taking the Chances We Need to Take, economist Allison Schrager challenges the idea that uncertainty is our biggest problem—and asks what we lose by avoiding it. Then, in her 2021 book Choose Possibility: Take Risks and Thrive (Even When You Fail), technology executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy takes on the pressure to make one perfect, life-changing leap. Together, they explore how to get moving without treating every decision like a bet on your entire future.⁠⁠⁠⁠

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