The Next Big Idea Daily

An evolutionary perspective reveals how early adversity can sometimes accelerate development. The Nature of Nurture by Jay Belsky The Social Genome by Dalton Conley 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that we’re in early January, a lot of us are thinking about what we want to change this year. But here’s the thing — we often focus on adding new habits when the real question might be, Why do we keep repeating the old ones? Why Do I Keep Doing This? by Kati Morton Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There by Tali Sharot and Cass Sunstein Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Oster is a professor of economics at Brown University and the author of the 2021 book The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years. She makes a fascinating case: well-run companies have a clear mission, they make decisions deliberately, and they have processes that keep things running smoothly. So why don't we apply that same intentionality to our family lives? Then we’ll hear from Christina and Ryan Hillsberg, a husband-and-wife team of former CIA officers. They share how lessons from intelligence work can help us raise resourceful, self-sufficient children. Sponsored By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid  The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% off a subscription when you use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Capitalism shapes everything about our lives — the way we work, the cities we live in, the goods we consume. But where did it come from, and where is it headed? Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert The Problem of Twelve by John Coates Supported By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid  The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% off a subscription when you use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Telford is a leading evolutionary biologist who's spent his career tracing the deepest roots of life itself. His new book is called The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle, and he joins us today to share some of his big ideas in just a moment. In the second half of the show, we'll hear big ideas from the 2023 book Planta Sapiens, exploring the surprising intelligence hidden in the plants all around us. Sponsored By: GoDaddy - Get a domain for pennies at godaddy.com/nbid  The Next Big Idea Club - Get 20% off a subscription when you use code DAILY at nextbigideaclub.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices