The Secret Life of Words - What Our Words Say About Us and What We Can Learn From Other’s Words: Jamie Pennebaker
Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman

The Secret Life of Words - What Our Words Say About Us and What We Can Learn From Other’s Words: Jamie Pennebaker

Ever wondered if we could predict people’s actions through their words? Renowned social psychologist and linguist Dr Jamie Pennebaker shares how words can give away our secrets, feelings and inner state of mind from Putin’s language which predicted his invasion of Ukraine to poets whose use of the word “I” can predict a higher risk of suicide. 

Dr. Pennebaker’s groundbreaking research in computational linguistics analyzing and counting the frequency of words, shows that our most forgettable words, such as pronouns I, me and my, can be the most revealing.

 He explains what the words Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Joe Biden use (and even the ones they don’t use) reveal about their inner feelings and the “tell” that predicted Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. 

He also talks about how American Presidents have become more likeable and less analytical, the differences in men’s and women's words, and how writing about traumatic experiences can help people heal and improve their physical health.  

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Why Platform Companies (Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb and Uber) Are the Opposite of Traditional Companies, Why They Become So Enormous, and How They Can Be Effectively Regulated: Marshall Van Alstyne
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

Why Platform Companies (Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb and Uber) Are the Opposite of Traditional Companies, Why They Become So Enormous, and How They Can Be Effectively Regulated: Marshall Van Alstyne

Marshall Van Alstyne shares why platform companies dominate traditional businesses and why 7 of the 10 largest companies in the world are platform companies. Learn how they outcompete traditional companies while employing just a tiny fraction of the number of people, how they are completely different from companies of the past, and why platforms beat products all the time.

Boston University professor Marshall Van Alstyne is the co-author of the international bestseller Platform Revolution and he is one of the world's experts on network business models.

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Is Tribalism Always Bad? How Group Identity or Tribalism Has Taken Over our Political System with Yale Law School Professor Amy Chua
Society, Politics & Government Lynn Thoman Society, Politics & Government Lynn Thoman

Is Tribalism Always Bad? How Group Identity or Tribalism Has Taken Over our Political System with Yale Law School Professor Amy Chua

Yale Law School professor Amy Chua shares how group identity has caused bitter partisanship in the U.S. and the failure of U.S. policies in Vietnam and other countries. Learn how children as young as 4 years old identify with groups and consistently display systematic, unconscious bias toward other groups. Amy argues that tribalism has taken over America's political system and that the way forward lies in remembering what makes the country special.

Amy Chua is the author of 5 books and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

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The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business: Setting the Table with Union Square Hospitality Group Founder & CEO Danny Meyer
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business: Setting the Table with Union Square Hospitality Group Founder & CEO Danny Meyer

Danny Meyer shares how to deliver outstanding hospitality, how he thinks restaurants will be different post pandemic and what continues to get him excited each day.

Danny is the founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which comprises some of New York’s most beloved and acclaimed restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, The Modern, Maialino, and many more.

Danny and USHG’s restaurants have won an unprecedented 28 James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Restaurateur, several three Michelin stars, and a Julia Child Award. He has also been recognized by Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America and TIME 100 “Most Influential People”.

”You may think, as I once did, that I’m primarily in the business of serving good food. Actually, though, food is secondary to something that matters even more. In the end, what’s most meaningful is creating positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships. Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple, and it’s that hard.”

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Always Be Learning: The Top 10 Takeaways of 2021 From Our Guests

Always Be Learning: The Top 10 Takeaways of 2021 From Our Guests

This week on the podcast we are highlighting the Top 10 Takeaways of 2021. With guests ranging from CEOs and founders, to best-selling authors and even the Director of the U.S. Secret Service. These individuals left us feeling motivated and inspired!

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Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions: The Science of Getting To Where You Want to Be with Katy Milkman (Repost)
Self, Health, Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman Self, Health, Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman

Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions: The Science of Getting To Where You Want to Be with Katy Milkman (Repost)

Wall Street Journal best-selling author Katy Milkman shares science-based ways to create change in our lives. Learn how to understand your impulses and make them work for you, rather than against you.

Katy is an advisor on how to spur positive change and has advised organizations from Google to the Red Cross. She is a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the best-selling author of How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

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Harvard Professor, Robert Waldinger: What the Good Life Actually Looks Like Based on Harvard’s 75 Year Study
Self, Health, Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman Self, Health, Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman

Harvard Professor, Robert Waldinger: What the Good Life Actually Looks Like Based on Harvard’s 75 Year Study

Find out what the good life actually looks like based on Harvard's 75-year study of more than 700 men from when they were teenagers through old age, with the director of the study, Robert Waldinger. Learn the single most important thing that keeps us healthy and happy as we go through life and what predicts who will stay healthy and live longer.

To learn more about Robert Waldinger and the Harvard Study of Adult Development, visit https://robertwaldinger.com.

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Army General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal: "The Greatest Risk Is Us" - So What is the Solution?
Military, Leadership, Society Lynn Thoman Military, Leadership, Society Lynn Thoman

Army General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal: "The Greatest Risk Is Us" - So What is the Solution?

Former Commander of Afghanistan General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal shares lessons from Afghanistan, the impact of the withdrawal, what makes a great leader and what he is most proud of in his career. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates has described General McChrystal as, "Perhaps the finest warrior and leader of men in combat I have ever met." Learn what General McChrystal believes to be the biggest risk facing the U.S. and the solution.

Gen. McChrystal rose to four-star general in the U.S. Army and Commander of both the International Security Assistance Force and Commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. He previously served as Director of the Joint Staff and as Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.

He is the author of several books, including Leaders and Risk, and is currently a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and co-founder of the McChrystal Group, a leadership consulting firm.

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World Renowned Thinker and Harvard Professor Steven Pinker: Human Action Can Improve the World
Society Lynn Thoman Society Lynn Thoman

World Renowned Thinker and Harvard Professor Steven Pinker: Human Action Can Improve the World

Steven Pinker shares why there is so much irrationality in the world – including conspiracy theories, belief in fake news, and medical quackery. Learn why he is optimistic about the future of democracy and the world, despite so much negativity and partisanship happening today.

Steve is one of the world’s most renowned thinkers. He is a Harvard University psychology professor and author. Bill Gates called one of Steve’s books his new favorite book of all time.

His most recent book is Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters.

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Start with Understanding: Change People's Minds Under Impossible Conditions with Best Selling Author and Wharton School Professor Jonah Berger
Society, Self Lynn Thoman Society, Self Lynn Thoman

Start with Understanding: Change People's Minds Under Impossible Conditions with Best Selling Author and Wharton School Professor Jonah Berger

Have you ever wondered how you could change someone’s mind or make something go viral? Jonah Berger shares what works to change people’s minds – even under almost impossible conditions – and how to make things “catch on.”

Jonah Berger is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally bestselling author. He is a world-renowned expert on change and on word of mouth, social influence, viral marketing, and how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. He has taught tens of thousands of students and executives, and advised hundreds of companies including Apple, Google and Nike.

He is the author of The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind and Contagious: Why Things Catch On.

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Live A Better, Happier Post Pandemic Life: The 3 Macronutrients of Happiness with Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks
Health, Self, Society Lynn Thoman Health, Self, Society Lynn Thoman

Live A Better, Happier Post Pandemic Life: The 3 Macronutrients of Happiness with Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks

Happiness expert and Harvard Kennedy School Professor Arthur Brooks shares how you can get better at, practice and share happiness and live a better happier post pandemic life. He also talks about how he managed to accomplish three complete job changes over his career.

Arthur is a Harvard professor, PhD social scientist, bestselling author, and columnist at The Atlantic whose focus is providing a roadmap to living a happier better life. Before joining the Harvard faculty, he was president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world’s leading think tanks, and before that he was a classical French hornist. He is the author of 11 books.

Arthur is the host of the podcast “The Art of Happiness with Arthur Brooks.” His next book, From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, will be published in 2022.

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How Courageous Companies Thrive by Improving the Lives of Everyone They Touch with Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

How Courageous Companies Thrive by Improving the Lives of Everyone They Touch with Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman

Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever, one of the largest companies in the world with over 300 brands. Paul helped redefine what being a good company means long before it was acceptable to think about anything besides profits. Paul shares how Imagine, a movement that he co-founded, brings together a critical mass of CEOs across the value chain to move industries toward sustainable impact goals such as climate change and inequality. Learn more about what a good company is and how your business can thrive by giving more than it takes.

Paul is the author of the highly anticipated book Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.

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“The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water.” Seeing the “Water” - A Different View of The World: Gillian Tett
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

“The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water.” Seeing the “Water” - A Different View of The World: Gillian Tett

Gillian Tett, Chair of the Editorial Board and Editor at Large, U.S. of the Financial Times uses her perspective as an anthropologist to explain a wide variety of business and cultural phenomena. She predicted the 2008 financial crisis. Discover how she sees the world today including new phenomena such as crypto currencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), artificial intelligence and gaming.

Her new book is Anthro Vision: A New Way to See in Life and Business. Anthropologist Ralph Linton said, “The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water.”

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Solving the World's Biggest Problem and Creating the Impossible Burger with Impossible Foods Founder Patrick Brown
Business, Environment, Health, Self, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Environment, Health, Self, Society Lynn Thoman

Solving the World's Biggest Problem and Creating the Impossible Burger with Impossible Foods Founder Patrick Brown

Meat production is one of the world’s greatest contributors to climate change. Patrick Brown, the creator of the Impossible Burger and the Founder of Impossible Foods, wanted to figure out how to make delicious, affordable meat from plants that is better for the environment and consumers. Learn about his journey from Stanford University professor to creating the Impossible Burger and how he built Impossible Foods into the multibillion-dollar company it is today.

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Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper: The Greatest Threat Facing the World Right Now and Individual Rights to Privacy

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper: The Greatest Threat Facing the World Right Now and Individual Rights to Privacy

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper discusses the greatest threats, cyber, surveillance, the information being collected on each one of us and individual rights to privacy. Learn how we can protect ourselves against future health or biological threats. 

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The Secret to Outstanding Achievement with Character Lab Founder and CEO Angela Duckworth
Education, Society, Self Lynn Thoman Education, Society, Self Lynn Thoman

The Secret to Outstanding Achievement with Character Lab Founder and CEO Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth is the Character Lab Founder and CEO and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Psychology. Angela studies the character traits and habits which predict success. She has studied West Point cadets National Spelling Bee finalists, teachers, sales people and students to determine who is successful and why. A few characteristics emerged as significant predictors of success. Angela shares what the character traits for success are and how we can nurture them.

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General Catalyst Chairman and Former American Express Chairman & CEO Ken Chenault: Leadership, Race & Creating Diverse Workforces
Business, Leadership, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Leadership, Society Lynn Thoman

General Catalyst Chairman and Former American Express Chairman & CEO Ken Chenault: Leadership, Race & Creating Diverse Workforces

Former American Express Chairman and CEO and current General Catalyst Chairman and Managing Director Ken Chenault, shares his thoughts on leadership, race, creating diverse workforces, responsible innovation, and his hope for the future. Ken covers his early life, growing up, his experience leading American Express for nearly two decades through crises and digital transformation, and the advice he gives founders and CEOs building innovative, enduring companies backed by General Catalyst.

Upon Ken’s retirement from American Express, Warren Buffett, the company’s largest shareholder stated, “Ken's been the gold standard for corporate leadership and the benchmark that I measure others against.” Ken is recognized as one of the business world’s experts on brands and brand management. He has been honored by multiple publications including Fortune Magazine, which named him as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders in its inaugural list in 2014 and, most recently, in 2021.

Ken serves on the boards of Airbnb, Berkshire Hathaway, Chief, Guild Education, and the Harvard Corporation. He is a co-founder of OneTen, a coalition of leading executives coming together to upskill, hire and advance one million Black Americans over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement. He also serves on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution’s Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Unconscious Bias: What Works To De-Bias How We Live, Learn and Work with Harvard Kennedy School's Former Academic Dean Iris Bohnet
Science & Tech, Self, Society, Law & Justice Lynn Thoman Science & Tech, Self, Society, Law & Justice Lynn Thoman

Unconscious Bias: What Works To De-Bias How We Live, Learn and Work with Harvard Kennedy School's Former Academic Dean Iris Bohnet

Iris Bohnet, the Academic Dean of the Kennedy School and co-Director of the Women and Public Policy Program, shares how simple, evidence-based changes can reduce and neutralize the biased behaviors in classrooms, police departments, and boardrooms; and in hiring and promotion. She is a behavioral economist, combining insights from economics and psychology to improve decision-making in organizations and society.

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Designing the Future With Materials That Sense, Adapt, Heal & Grow: Founder of MIT's Self-Assembly Lab Skylar Tibbits
Environment, Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman Environment, Science & Tech, Society Lynn Thoman

Designing the Future With Materials That Sense, Adapt, Heal & Grow: Founder of MIT's Self-Assembly Lab Skylar Tibbits

Imagine homes that can grow themselves whenever and wherever they’re needed or buildings that can adapt to their environment. We’re limited only by our creativity in designing materials that physically sense, adapt to their environment, heal themselves and grow. Skylar Tibbits shares how we can design simple and elegant materials that harness nature without electronics and batteries.

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None Of Us Are Too Small To Make A Difference: Humanitarian & Author Of I Am A Girl From Africa Elizabeth Nyamayaro
Politics & Government, Self, Society Lynn Thoman Politics & Government, Self, Society Lynn Thoman

None Of Us Are Too Small To Make A Difference: Humanitarian & Author Of I Am A Girl From Africa Elizabeth Nyamayaro

Elizabeth Nyamayaro is the author of I Am A Girl From Africa, Special Advisor at the United Nations World Food Programme and founder of the HeForShe movement. She shares her near death experience and how she used adversity to create an opportunity to do greater things. “None of us are too small to make a difference.”

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