Life Examined

‘The Sympathizer’ author Viet Thanh Nguyen on new memoir ‘A Man of Two Faces’

Pulitzer-prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses his memoir “A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial” and the challenges and pain he faced growing up a Vietnamese refugee.

Midweek Reset: Cultivating Attention

This week, Gloria Mark , Professor at the University of California at Irvine and author of the book “Attention Span:A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity,” explains how much harder it has become to resist the urge to be distracted mostly because of the constant access to our our digital devices. Mark says we should be more cognizant of these types of distractions and suggests asking yourself before you next reach for your phone whether doing so will provide any value. 

Scott Galloway: Can the youth still make it in America?

Scott Galloway discusses his book "The Algebra of Wealth" and the growing disconnect between young people and their economic futures.

Midweek Reset: Kieran Setiya on failure + process

This week, Kieran Setyia, professor of philosophy at MIT and author of “Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way” reflects on failure and suggests we push back on how we frame our lives through successes and failures, winners and losers. Doing so, Setyia says, doesn’t make us succeed more but allows “failure to take a different shape and have less centrality” in how we value our lives. 

Uprooted: Climate migration and scientist activism

Journalist Abraham Lustgarten and scientist-turned-activist Rose Abramoff discuss the impacts of climate research on human migratory patterns and activism.

KCRW’s “How’s Your Sex Life” discusses falling in love and falling apart with Jonathan Bastian

KCRW Life Examined host Jonathan Bastian makes a guest appearance on KCRW’s How’s Your Sex Life, and talks about his insights on relationships, divorce and heartbreak. 

Midweek Reset: Scott Galloway on Blessings

This week, Scott Galloway NYU professor, podcaster and author of “The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security,” reflects on life’s blessings. Galloway says he’s grateful for the many successes in his life, which he attributes not to hard work but to the people, time and circumstances that made them possible.  His message to others who share his good fortune, "don't hoard wealth,” spend it on time and experiences with your friends and your family.

Border Crossings: Navigating identity, language, and belonging

After years of working at the intersection of immigration and education, journalist Lauren Markham offers a different approach to writing about immigration that may lead to greater understanding. In her book A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging, Markham talks about challenging narratives and stories, looking at our own history, and asking what it means to belong to a place.​

Midweek Reset: Michael Pollan on psychedelics

This week, renowned writer and author Michael Pollan on the new science of psychedelics. Pollan describes how new treatments using psilocybin can open pathways in our minds and when used with supervision, have been successful in treating depression, anxiety and addiction.

Michael Pollan’s long and strange trip: shifting perspectives on food and psychedelics

Renowned writer and author Michael Pollan delves into his three-decade odyssey exploring America's food systems. With six bestselling books to his name, Pollan's pioneering inquiries have raised the fundamental question: ‘What’s in our food, and where it comes from?’ Pollan also explores plants that influence our consciousness, citing caffeine as a prime example.