Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
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Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
Beyond saving lives: happiness and doing good (with Michael Plant)
Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
1 hour 12 minutes 5 seconds
1 month ago
Beyond saving lives: happiness and doing good (with Michael Plant)
Read the full transcript here. (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/280/#transcript) • Are we trying to maximize moment-to-moment happiness or life satisfaction? Can self-reports • really guide policy and giving? What happens to quality of life metrics when we judge impact by • wellbeing instead of health or income? How should we compare treating depression to providing • clean water when their benefits feel incomparable? Do cultural norms and scale-use quirks • impact the accuracy of global happiness scores? How much do biases warp both our forecasts • and our data? Is it ethical to chase the biggest happiness returns at the expense of other • meaningful interventions? Where do autonomy, agency, and justice fit if philanthropy aims to • reduce suffering or maximize aggregate happiness? Can we balance scientific rigor with the • irreducibly subjective nature of joy, misery, and meaning? What should donors actually do with • wellbeing-based cost-effectiveness numbers in the face of uncertainty and long-run effects? And • could a wellbeing lens realistically reshape which charities, and which policies, the world funds • next? • Dr. Michael Plant is the Founder and Director of the Happier Lives Institute, a non-profit that • researches the most cost-effective ways to increase global well-being and provides charity • recommendations. Michael is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Wellbeing Research Centre, • Oxford and his PhD in Philosophy from Oxford was supervised by Peter Singer. He is a co-author • of the 2025 World Happiness Report. He lives in Bristol, England, with his wife. • Links: • The Happier Lives Institute (https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/) • Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford (https://wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/) • PersonalityMap (%5Bhttps://personalitymap.io/?search=Right+now%2C+at+this+very+moment%2C+how+happy+%28rather+than+unhappy%29+do+you+feel+right+now%3F) (correlation between life satisfaction and moment-to-moment happiness) • The Elephant in the Bed Net (https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/report/the-elephant-inthe-bednet/) • World Happiness Report 2025 (https://www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2025/?_bhlid=64d9590f721c8a00d8eb2d41364e0cf96926a847) • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host + Director • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Producer + Technical Lead • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • WeAmplify (https://www.weamplify.info/) — Transcriptionists • Igor Scaldini (https://www.linkedin.com/in/igorscaldini/) — Marketing Consultant • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/) [Read more: https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/280/michael-plant-beyond-saving-lives-happiness-and-doing-good]
Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
