"Keep Talking" exists to have conversations that might help to make a better society and a better culture. I believe that each guest has important information and stories to make public. And it's something that I want to share.
Konstantin Kisin is an author, an essayist, and the co-host of the YouTube channel and podcast Triggernometry. A rebroadcast from 2022. ------------ Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting ------------ Keep Talking Substack Spotify Apple Podcasts Social media and all episodes ------------ Support via Venmo Support on Substack Support on Patreon ------------ (00:00) Intro (1:00) Transition from Soviet Union to wealth in post-collapse Russia (4:00) Impact of the Soviet collapse on ordinary people's lives (6:31) Personal resilience shaped by tumultuous childhood experiences (8:30) Lack of education about the Soviet experience in the West (11:06) The Russian Revolution and its implications for society today (11:20) Overview of the dictatorship of the proletariat concept. (12:55) Impact of property expropriation on wealthy families during the revolution. (14:03) Consequences of collective farming in Soviet society. (16:12) The Soviet Union's attempt at equality led to widespread poverty. (19:02) Insights on the Russian psyche from democratic experiments in the 90s. (23:42) Describing the chaotic aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse. (25:12) Painful experiences shaped Russian society during the 1990s. (27:11) Russia's surrender to terrorists: a psychological shock for citizens. (29:07) Vladimir Putin emerged as a strongman leader in chaos. (30:46) Boris Yeltsin's legacy and Putin's rise to power explained. (36:57) Freedom of expression as the foundation of Western society. (39:09) The importance of free speech and its recent threats discussed. (40:11) The roots of political correctness and free speech erosion. (41:34) Exploring the dangers of hierarchical ideologies in society. (43:15) The natural dynamics between men and women in relationships. (45:23) Martin Luther King’s vision for character over skin color. (46:00) Concerns about societal divisions and their historical implications. (48:14) The universal threat of believing some people are superior to others. (49:00) Thought-provoking quotes (54:00) The West and the importance of individual rights (1:00:41) George Kennan's insights on containment and Western values. (1:01:13) Concerns about identity politics and its impact on society. (1:02:41) The danger of losing a unified national identity. (1:05:41) Internal division as the real threat to powerful nations. (1:08:30) Contextualizing slavery and colonialism in world history. (1:12:31) The role of comedy in challenging mainstream narratives.
Randy Nesse is a psychiatrist, a professor, and the author of "Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry." ------------ Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting ------------ Keep Talking Substack Spotify Apple Podcasts Social media and all episodes ------------ Support via Venmo Support on Substack Support on Patreon ------------ (00:00) Intro (00:40) Why low mood exists (04:23) Giving up goals can improve your mental health (06:48) When is it appropriate to give up goals? (11:50) "In what situations was this emotion useful across our evolutionary history?" (21:51) How Randy developed an evolutionary framework (28:25) Examples of working with depression from Randy's career (36:40) Freud, Jung, and mental illness (49:23) Exposure therapy (54:11) Quotes from "Good Reasons for Bad Feelings" (59:55) Partner choice and selfish genes
Richard Wrangham is a professor at Harvard, a primatologist, and the author of multiple books including "The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution." ------------ Book a meeting with Dan ------------ Keep Talking Substack Spotify Apple Podcasts Social media and all episodes ------------ Support via Venmo Support on Substack Support on Patreon ------------ (00:00) Intro (00:50) How humans have removed alpha male bullies (09:59) Christopher Boehm's "Hierarchy in the Forest" (16:06) Implications of human's self-domestication through violence (22:03) Bullying male behavior that would lead to execution (28:45) How the threat of violence influenced our moral impulses (34:23) Psychopathy and reactive aggression in adult men (45:25) How can someone spot a psychopath? (50:07) Jane Goodall and how Richard views human nature (01:02:53) Cooking and fire (01:03:13) Richard's views on removing the y chromosome (01:10:39) Removing genes for extreme aggression rather than men altogether
Robert Plomin is a British-American scientist, a psychologist and behavioral geneticist, and the author of the bestselling book, "Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are." ------------ Book a meeting with Dan ------------ Keep Talking Substack Spotify Apple Podcasts Social media and all episodes ------------ Support via Venmo Support on Substack Support on Patreon ------------ (00:00) Intro (00:53) The power of DNA in making us who we are (03:40) Debunking the nurture-focused perspective (10:40) Robert's views on his own genetic predisposition to weight gain (22:59) How personalized, low-cost DNA sequencing will effect people's lives (30:21) Clarity around genetic risk will improve with time (31:49) The probabilistic, nuanced truth of genetic influence (38:20) Clarifying randomness and the nurture aspect of who we are (43:57) Identical twins (49:36) Quotes from "Blueprint" (58:41) A quote about child rearing from Tig Notaro (01:02:00) How genetic truths can make people more compassionate (01:04:52) Merging evolution and psychology (01:15:23) How should society evolve and improve because of these truths? (01:18:23) B.F. Skinner and the power of nature in the extremes
Brian Hare is a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University and is the co-author of the book "Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity." ------------ Book a meeting with Dan ------------ Keep Talking Substack Spotify Apple Podcasts Social media and all episodes ------------ Support via Venmo Support on Substack Support on Patreon ------------ (00:00) Intro (00:46) The origin and ideas of "Survival of the Friendliest" (07:38) The story of human survival and dominance (20:20) What is meant by "friendliness"? (26:40) Tribal identity and darker aspects of human cooperation (35:15) Political polarization in America (46:12) The work of Braver Angels and overcoming political division (52:30) Is it ever appropriate to dehumanize?