The Knowledge Project

#31 Barbara Oakley: Learning How to Learn

#30 Margaret Heffernan: Collaboration and Competition

#29 Dacher Keltner: Survival of the Kindest

Human emotions serve as the fundamental grammar of social living, driving collaborative networks and essential human attachments. Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley, argues that evolutionary success stems from "survival of the kindest" rather than ruthless competition, highlighting how pro-social beh...

#28 Michael Mauboussin: A Decision Making Jedi

This podcast explores decision-making frameworks, base rates, and the balance between intuition and systematic processes. Michael Mauboussin, Director of Research at Blue Mountain Capital Management, discusses how to apply base rates effectively, weighing luck versus skill in decision-making, and quantifying regression...

#27 Chris Voss: The Art of Letting Other People Have Your Way

High-stakes negotiation relies on emotional intelligence and tactical empathy rather than traditional intellectual frameworks. Chris Voss, former FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator, argues that effective negotiation requires letting the other side speak first to gather information and uncover hidden deal brea...

#26 Warren Berger: Improving The Questions You Ask

Inquiry serves as a vital engine for innovation, yet societal structures—from schools to corporate boardrooms—frequently suppress curiosity by prioritizing immediate answers over deep questioning. Effective problem-solving requires shifting from a reactive, high-stimulation state to a dedicated "create mode," character...

#25 Gary Taubes: Is Sugar Slowly Killing Us

Modern nutritional science suffers from a systemic failure to address global epidemics of obesity and diabetes, largely due to reliance on flawed methodologies and the simplistic "calories in, calories out" model. Science journalist Gary Taubes contends that obesity is fundamentally a hormonal regulatory disorder drive...

#24 Susan Cain: Leading the Quiet Revolution

Introversion and extroversion represent fundamental aspects of human nature, shaping how individuals interact with their environments and manage personal energy. Susan Cain, author of Quiet, argues that modern society’s bias toward extroversion—rooted in the historical shift from a "culture of character" to a "culture ...

#23 Ray Dalio: Life Lessons from a Self-Made Billionaire

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, outlines a framework for achieving success through radical open-mindedness and systematic decision-making. Central to his philosophy is the concept of an "idea meritocracy," where the most credible ideas prevail through thoughtful disagreement rather than hierarchy. Dalio e...

#22 Adam Grant: Givers, Takers, and the Resilient Mind

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant examines the interplay between interaction styles, creativity, and resilience in professional environments. Success often hinges on transitioning from a "giver" who risks exploitation to a strategic contributor who aligns personal generosity with organizational goals. Originality ...

#21 Ed Latimore: The Warrior Poet

#20 Marc Garneau: The Future of Transportation

Marc Garneau, Canada’s Minister of Transport and former astronaut, applies an engineer’s rigorous, logic-driven mindset to the complexities of national infrastructure and public policy. Navigating the transition from private service to public office requires balancing competing interests, from regional economic develop...

Rory Sutherland: The Psychology of Advertising

In this episode of The Knowledge Project, Shane Parrish interviews Rory Sutherland, the vice chairman of Ogilvy & Mather, about applying behavioral sciences to advertising and problem-solving. They discuss how intangible value can be created, using the example of an airport resolving security backlog by changing passen...

#18 Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher

In this episode of The Knowledge Project, Shane Parrish interviews Naval Ravikant, CEO and co-founder of AngelList, about reading habits, decision-making, and life philosophies. Naval describes his voracious reading habits, emphasizing the importance of reading widely and deeply, and treating books as "throwaways" to e...

Aristotle Koskinas on Greek History

Athens serves as a 6,000-year-old historical continuum, evolving from an ancient city-state to a modern capital shaped by Ottoman influence, the War of Independence, and rapid 20th-century expansion. Aristotle Koskinas, an archaeologist and professional guide, explains how the city’s identity balances its classical her...

Santorini Wine with Panayiota Kalogeropoulou

Santorini’s viticulture relies on a unique volcanic terroir characterized by ash, sand, and pumice, which has protected the island’s vines from phylloxera for over 3,000 years. Panayiotia, director of Domaine Sigalas, explains how this environment fosters the extreme acidity and mineral-rich profile of the Assyrtiko gr...

#15 Samuel Arbesman: Future-Proof Your Knowledge

Technological systems are increasingly becoming so complex that they defy total comprehension, even by their creators. Navigating this reality requires moving beyond "physics thinking"—which seeks simple, universal laws—toward "biological thinking," an approach that embraces messy, evolving details and iterative learni...

#14 Morgan Housel: Reading, Writing, and Lifelong Learning

The conversation explores Morgan Housel's journey into financial writing, his perspective on the field, and his approach to crafting timeless content. Housel, a columnist at The Motley Fool and former writer for The Wall Street Journal, details his early career aspirations in investment banking and private equity befor...

#13 Pedro Domingos: The Rise of The Machines

Artificial intelligence represents a fundamental shift in how knowledge is discovered, moving from human-led programming to self-evolving algorithms. Pedro Domingos, a professor at the University of Washington, identifies five distinct schools of machine learning—connectionists, evolutionaries, Bayesians, symbolists, a...

#12 Véronique Rivest: Wine Lessons

Wine expertise requires a combination of rigorous sensory training, deductive reasoning, and deep knowledge of global viticulture. Sommeliers function primarily as service professionals who prioritize guest enjoyment while navigating the complexities of wine production, from soil composition to chemical manipulation. D...