No Stupid Questions

Also: how does a cook become a chef? With Gabrielle Hamilton. This episode originally aired on August 30, 2020.

Also: why do we procrastinate? This episode originally aired on August 23, 2020.

Also: what is the best question you’ve ever been asked in a job interview? This episode originally aired on August 16, 2020.

Also: how can we stop confusing correlation with causation? This episode originally aired on August 9, 2020.

Also: how effective is the placebo effect? This episode originally aired on August 2, 2020.

Also: why do we habituate to life’s greatest pleasures? This episode originally aired on July 26, 2020.

Also: are the most memorable stories less likely to be true? This episode originally aired on July 19, 2020.

Also: how do you avoid screwing up your kids? This episode originally aired on July 12, 2020.

Also: how does a comedian cope with tragedy? With Eugene Mirman. This episode originally aired on July 5, 2020.

Also: is it better to send a congratulatory note to someone who deserves it or a condolence note to someone who needs it? This episode originally aired on June 28, 2020.

Also: should we all have personal mission statements? This episode originally aired on June 21, 2020.

Also: is there such a thing as too much science? Plus, our special guest, Luis von Ahn, an inventor of CAPTCHA and a pioneer of free online language learning. This episode originally aired on June 14, 2020.

Also: is life precious because it’s finite? This episode originally aired on June 7, 2020.

Also: how does age affect happiness? This episode originally aired on May 31, 2020.

Also: why do we treat pets better than people? This episode originally aired on May 24, 2020.

Also: why can't humans handle uncertainty already? We’re replaying No Stupid Questions, starting here with the very first episode, from May 17, 2020.

How can you learn to love uncertainty? Is it better to cultivate acceptance or strive for change? And, after 223 episodes, what is the meaning of life? SOURCES:Jessica AlquistRoy BaumeisterRaymond CarverStephen ColbertMatt DamonViktor FranklSteve HeineCharles KrauthammerReinhold NiebuhrKeanu ReevesElisabeth Sifton RESOURCES:Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychology Can Help Us Build Meaningful Lives in Absurd Times, Learning to Love UncertaintyCurrent Directions in Psychological Science, Confused or Curious? Openness/Intellect Predicts More Positive Interest-Confusion RelationsJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, A Note to ReadersThe Washington Post, Interest — The Curious EmotionCurrent Directions in Psychological Science, The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of Peace and War, Late FragmentA New Path to the Waterfall, Man's Search for Meaning, EXTRAS:What Makes an Idea Interesting?No Stupid Questions Should You Get Out of Your Comfort Zone?No Stupid Questions Do You Need Closure?No Stupid Questions Secret o’ LifeJT,

What do Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Malcolm Gladwell have in common? Are interesting theories more significant than true ones? And what has been keeping Angela up at night? Plus: an important announcement about the show. SOURCES:Charles DarwinMurray DavisMalcolm GladwellAdam GrantB. F. Skinner RESOURCES:Small Fry, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Why Malcolm Gladwell’s Ideas Are So Interesting, Whether or Not They’re TrueQuartz, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life, Interest — The Curious EmotionExploring the Psychology of Interest, The Ketchup ConundrumThe New Yorker, That's Interesting!: Towards a Phenomenology of Sociology and a Sociology of PhenomenologyPhilosophy of the Social Sciences, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, EXTRAS:How Do You Identify a Narcissist?No Stupid Questions Is Screen Time as Poisonous as We Think?Freakonomics Radio Abortion and Crime, Revisited (Update)Freakonomics Radio

Why does listening to No Stupid Questions feel like you’re hanging out with your best friends? Why did the whole world take it personally when Princess Diana died? And how do “parasocial relationships” affect your mental health? SOURCES:Bradley BondJohn CacioppoJoe CobbsNick EpleyKaty MilkmanEmily OsterAnuj Shah RESOURCES:Knowledge About Others Reduces One’s Own Sense of AnonymityNatureTragic but True: How Podcasters Replaced Our Real FriendsThe GuardianThe Development and Influence of Parasocial Relationships With Television Characters: A Longitudinal Experimental Test of Prejudice Reduction Through Parasocial ContactCommunication ResearchA Mind like Mine: The Exceptionally Ordinary Underpinnings of AnthropomorphismJournal of the Association for Consumer ResearchGrit: The Power of Passion and PerseveranceHow Soap Operas Changed the WorldBBCThe Power of TV: Cable Television and Women's Status in IndiaThe Quarterly Journal of Economics EXTRAS:Can A.I. Companions Replace Human Connection?No Stupid Questions RivalryTell Me Something I Don't Know Behavior Change for Good InitiativeEverything Is AliveThe Know Rivalry Project

Are things really as bad as they seem? Has Gen Z given up hope for the world? And why was the father of positive psychology a lifelong pessimist? SOURCES:Albert BanduraDavid Brooks. Andrew GroveKalev LeetaruSteven MaierMichelle ObamaSteven PinkerAmanda RipleyMartin SeligmanJean TwengeEdward Zigler RESOURCES:Chicken Littles Are Ruining AmericaThe Atlantic, Generations, Enlightenment Now, The Short History of Global Living Conditions and Why It Matters That We Know ItOur World in Data, Learned Helplessness at Fifty: Insights from NeurosciencePsychological Review, Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Stressor Controllability in Adolescent RatsBehavioural Brain Research, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Forecasting Large-Scale Human Behavior Using Global News Media Tone in Time and SpaceFirst Monday, Motivational Aspects of Changes in IQ Test Performance of Culturally Deprived Nursery School ChildrenChild Development, Failure to Escape Traumatic ShockJournal of Experimental Psychology, Upworthy EXTRAS:Why Is U.S. Media So Negative?Freakonomics Radio