The era of borders is over: today, many of us can realistically plan to (and do) choose the country where to live our best future. But changing cultures is a whole different matter. We often hear that, for better or worse, your country of origin "marks you" for life. In customs, values, and even the very way you eat, you cannot disengage yourself from your birthplace. Can you really hope to do it? However, what if you come to realize that there is something fundamentally wrong with your...

Why is it so hard to find the right words to connect with someone going through a great loss, such as a death, illness, or losing a job? In this episode, Leopold and Ricardo address the topic of grief and discuss some of the challenges that many people (including themselves) experience when trying to support someone in pain. They go on to assess the conventional view on this subject and ask whether empathy really calls for seeking connection through a feeling of sorrow--or whether, instead,...

You’ve heard the notion that creative people are crazy—that creativity is touched by madness. Have you asked yourself why? Then, who cares?  Creative people tend to be flamboyant anyway and the worlds they recreate come close enough to being crazy. Let yourself go and add a little craziness to your work.  Or so we think. But is this a fair description of the creative process? And what’s more important, don’t we risk detaching ourselves from our creative goals when declaring that all we need...

You’ve heard it said: Consistency is the key to success. Or at least, that's what hundreds of thought leaders claim, particularly Simon Sinek.  He's persuasively argued for consistency as the fundamental factor separating success stories from their counterparts, going so far as to say that intensity, while valued by most, is overrated. (check out this short animated clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5OV3RmXhbg&t=94s)  But what if we misconceived the whole subject? What if we are...

In tough times when things don't seem to go our way, many thought leaders, influencers, and business gurus advise us to reflect on those little things we can be grateful for. Every day, we come across inspirational social media posts that invite us to "always look on the bright side of life" and "count our blessings." But beyond the fuzzy, warm feeling that these ideas are meant to cause in us, have you ever stopped to reflect on whether this push for gratitude rests on a solid, rational...

Episode #001: "Stop being so judgmental!" "Who are you to judge?" We launch our first episode by challenging a tenet that has been taught to us since we were kids: the notion that one should not judge other people's lives. We explore the meaning of this idea to untangle some of the major confusions around this topic. We draw out the key (but often blurred) distinctions between being judgmental and making an objective moral judgment. And finally, we close the discussion with a central...

Episode #002: Honesty is one of those virtues that everyone pays lip service to. From childhood, we are taught to tell the truth no matter what, as we are warned about the bad consequences of being caught lying. Despite this, we've all fantasized at least once about the possible benefits of getting away with a lie. What's the worst that could happen by tweaking things a bit on your resume? Why not tell a white lie if that way you can avoid hurting others? But is truth-telling all there is to...

Welcome the undisputed champions of the world. They won their battles a thousand years ago; then they shut down the championship.  How come? Well, you see, these are particular kinds of fighters. They are not merely people; they are ideas — undisputed ideas that claimed victory over our minds without a fight. They are values taken for granted that they come in fashion now and then in a new robe even after reigning for centuries. They are concepts we live by yet declare “immoral” anyone who...