Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Ethical living, effective altruism and philanthropy • Happiness, meaning and “mattering” • Animal ethics, veganism and food systems • AI consciousness and tech governance • Psychology, neuroscience and decision-making • Social justice, trauma, empathy and moral progress
This podcast features long-form conversations with people whose work and life stories illuminate what it can mean to “live well,” understood both as personal fulfillment and as ethical responsibility. Hosted by philosophers Peter Singer and Kasia de Lazari Radek, it blends practical ethics with psychology, economics, public policy, science, and the arts, using each guest’s experience as a lens on moral decision-making and human flourishing.
Across the interviews, recurring topics include how to do good effectively—through charitable giving, career choices, and institutional design—and how to evaluate moral tradeoffs in areas such as poverty relief, animal welfare, food systems, and climate responsibility. Several discussions focus on the ethics of markets and public “nudges,” and on how governments and organizations can shape behavior while respecting autonomy.
A major thread is the science of well-being and meaning: how happiness and life satisfaction are measured, why they can decline, and how factors like trust, social connection, empathy, and a sense of “mattering” influence mental health and resilience. The show also explores cognition and bias, including how people mispredict what will make them happy and how beliefs shape emotional experience.
Another prominent theme is technological change, especially artificial intelligence and biotechnology, including questions about AI consciousness, governance, and how emerging tools might reshape morality and society. Interwoven with these ideas are accounts of survival, trauma, discrimination, creativity, activism, and leadership, emphasizing how individuals confront hardship, sustain purpose, and try to widen their moral concern beyond themselves.
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Episodes:
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Peter Singer turns 80!! 🎂
2026-Jul-23
67 minutes
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a life of kindness with AMY AELA
2026-Jul-09
48 minutes
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the moral marketplace with ALVIN ROTH
2026-Jun-25
66 minutes
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Lessons from the World Happiness Report with JOHN HELLIWELL
2026-Jun-11
60 minutes
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The future of food with BRUCE FRIEDRICH
2026-May-28
51 minutes
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How converging science and AI could reshape humanity’s morality with JAMIE METZL
2026-May-14
66 minutes
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forgiving the unforgivable, with Holocaust survivor EDITH EGER
2026-May-01
41 minutes
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CLAUDE STEELE on stereotype threat, and overcoming churn
2026-Apr-30
50 minutes
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DEREK SHILLER: How AI will change what it is to live well
2026-Apr-16
43 minutes
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BEYOND HUMAN: are we creating AI consciousness?
2026-Apr-02
40 minutes
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WILL MACASKILL says we are not prepared for the intelligence explosion
2026-Mar-19
42 minutes
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ZOE WEIL has a solutionary idea to change the world
2026-Mar-05
52 minutes
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REBECCA GOLDSTEIN thinks we are all attention seeking
2026-Feb-19
62 minutes
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forget happiness, JENNIFER WALLACE thinks mattering is the key to a life well lived
2026-Feb-05
51 minutes
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(RE-RELEASE) LISA FELDMAN BARRETT: everything you know about the brain is wrong!
2026-Jan-22
74 minutes
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(RE-RELEASE) Why YUVAL NOAH HARARI thinks modern society is on the brink of collapse
2026-Jan-15
56 minutes
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(RE-RELEASE) INGRID NEWKIRK: the dark side of animal rights
2026-Jan-08
80 minutes
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(RE-RELEASE) DANIEL KAHNEMAN: understanding how we make decisions
2026-Jan-01
63 minutes
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(RE-RELEASE) A.J. JACOBS exposes why living biblically means stoning adulterers!
2025-Dec-25
72 minutes
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MARION NESTLE exposes the dark truth about ultra processed foods
2025-Dec-18
62 minutes
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PAUL SIMON: life beyond the sound of silence
2025-Dec-11
75 minutes
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TIM MINCHIN vs The Church
2025-Dec-04
72 minutes
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SHERMIN KRUSE on surviving the Iranian Revolution through the power of empathy
2025-Nov-27
72 minutes
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BRIAN HARE & VANESSA WOODS: kindness will prevail over aggression
2025-Nov-20
60 minutes
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STEPHEN WEST found philosophy whilst working in a warehouse
2025-Nov-13
61 minutes
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MERCEDES & ANASTASIA KORNGUT are teenagers on a crusade for happiness
2025-Nov-06
50 minutes
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DANIEL GILBERT thinks our brains are wired for misery
2025-Oct-30
65 minutes
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BISHOP MARIANN BUDDE defied Trump, and delivered a sermon that shook the world
2025-Oct-23
53 minutes
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WORKING TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE with Julia van Boven & Sjir Hoeijmakers
2025-Oct-16
52 minutes
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CHRISTINE WEBB: why human exceptionalism is a myth
2025-Oct-09
57 minutes
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(re-release) How JANE GOODALL defied experts and changed our view on animals forever!
2025-Oct-02
56 minutes
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BARRY JONES is the politician who abolished the death penalty
2025-Sep-25
49 minutes
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MARTHA NUSSBAUM: why killing animals might not always be wrong
2025-Sep-18
68 minutes
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STEPHEN FRY and the defining moment that almost destroyed his future
2025-Sep-11
66 minutes
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ANNA MACHIN: monogamy is unnatural
2025-Sep-04
66 minutes
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ELLEN LANGER says you need to question everything
2025-Jul-31
79 minutes
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the controversial crusade of WAYNE HSIUNG, and the legal challenges of animal liberation
2025-Jul-24
86 minutes
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DASHO DECHEN WANGMO: How Bhutan's unconventional approach to health beat COVID-19
2025-Jul-17
49 minutes
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DEAN SPEARS thinks the depopulation of humanity will change the world forever
2025-Jul-10
64 minutes
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MEG SMAKER has been kidnapped and cancelled
2025-Jul-03
75 minutes
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TALI SHAROT exposes the optimism bias
2025-Jun-26
63 minutes
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JOSHUA GREENE has a solution to our divided world
2025-Jun-19
62 minutes
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CYAN BANISTER: from homelessness to angel investor
2025-Jun-05
73 minutes
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SLAVOJ ZIZEK: why happiness is overrated
2025-May-29
84 minutes
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CASS SUNSTEIN: the government has ways to mind control you
2025-May-22
63 minutes
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LAWRENCE KRAUSS thinks you are cosmically insignificant
2025-May-15
66 minutes
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RUTGER BREGMAN is fighting a battle against moral apathy
2025-May-08
69 minutes
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ELIZABETH BARNES: is disability a burden or a blessing?
2025-May-01
57 minutes
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THOMAS NAGEL thinks you are wrong about the understanding of the universe
2025-Apr-24
63 minutes
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ARTHUR C. BROOKS: why chasing money and escaping pain won't make you happy
2025-Apr-17
75 minutes
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ANTONIO DAMASIO: why everything you think you know about consciousness is dead wrong
2025-Apr-10
68 minutes
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SIGAL SAMUEL: why saving strangers might make you a villain
2025-Apr-03
61 minutes
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DAVID DUCHOVNY: the dark secrets behind fame and conspiracy theories
2025-Mar-27
58 minutes
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MICHAEL PLANT shares the 2025 World Happiness Report
2025-Mar-20
51 minutes
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ANNA LEMBKE on breaking free of addiction
2025-Mar-13
61 minutes
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ROBERT SAPOLSKY tells us why free will is an illusion
2025-Mar-06
64 minutes
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SAFEENA HUSAIN wants to educate girls and end intergenerational cycles of poverty
2025-Feb-27
50 minutes
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PROFIT FOR GOOD: building businesses that donate 100% of their profits to charity
2025-Feb-20
72 minutes
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MOBY on fame, punk rock activism, and animal liberation
2025-Feb-13
64 minutes
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RICHARD LAYARD: are governments keeping you unhappy?
2025-Feb-06
65 minutes
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KAKENYA NTAIYA will not stop fighting the war against female genial mutilation
2025-Jan-30
50 minutes
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why ADAM GRANT thinks you are wrong about your life choices
2025-Jan-23
67 minutes
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forgiving the unforgivable, how Holocaust survivor EDITH EGER turns trauma into triumph
2025-Jan-16
44 minutes
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STEVEN PINKER: society's biggest lies exposed!
2025-Jan-09
75 minutes
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CHARLIE BRESLER: from millionaire to philanthropist
2024-Dec-19
65 minutes
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JOYCE CAROL OATES is not interested in a life well lived
2024-Oct-03
54 minutes
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LISA FELDMAN BARRETT: everything you know about the brain is wrong!
2024-Sep-26
78 minutes
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MURALI DORAISWAMY: understanding the complexity of mental illness
2024-Sep-19
60 minutes
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SAM HARRIS: breaking through the illusion of consciousness and free will
2024-Sep-12
93 minutes
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PAUL BLOOM: the hidden truth about empathy and why your good intentions are flawed
2024-Sep-05
73 minutes
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XIMENA ABOGABIR: living to 100, a miracle or a misery?
2024-Aug-29
54 minutes
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JONATHAN HAIDT: why social media might be more dangerous than we think
2024-Aug-22
78 minutes
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A.J. JACOBS exposes why living biblically means stoning adulterers!
2024-Aug-15
72 minutes
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Debunking Happiness with MATTHIEU RICARD "the world's happiest man"
2024-Aug-08
72 minutes
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FRANCES KISSLING: the nun who challenged The Vatican
2024-Aug-01
64 minutes
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TYLER COWEN thinks we should worry about wolves more than climate change
2024-Jul-25
79 minutes
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DUI TOLEDO: why ditching your phone could be the ultimate freedom
2024-Jul-18
71 minutes
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KATE GRANT: forgotten women and the untold tragedy of obstetric fistula
2024-Jul-11
43 minutes
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ROBERT WRIGHT: the art of self-delusion, why your mind betrays your morals
2024-Jul-04
63 minutes
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How JANE GOODALL defied experts and changed our view on animals forever!
2024-Jun-27
57 minutes
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The Future of Humanity... Will we survive NEIL DE GRASSE TYSON'S vision?
2024-Jun-20
89 minutes
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JUDY COLLINS: from addiction and heartbreak to timeless music
2024-Jun-13
70 minutes
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Why YUVAL NOAH HARARI thinks modern society is on the brink of collapse
2024-Jun-06
59 minutes
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INGRID NEWKIRK: the dark side of animal rights
2024-May-30
86 minutes
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DANIEL KAHNEMAN: understanding how we make decisions
2024-May-23
66 minutes
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PETER & KASIA: welcome to the podcast
2024-May-16
38 minutes
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Lives Well Lived Trailer
2024-Apr-29
less than a minute
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