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?
All content for Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg is the property of Spencer Greenberg and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
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?
Shamanism, witchcraft, and the power of narrative (with Manvir Singh)
Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
1 hour 32 minutes 43 seconds
3 days ago
Shamanism, witchcraft, and the power of narrative (with Manvir Singh)
Read the full transcript here. (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/265/#transcript) • What do westerners misunderstand about "tribal" cultures? How does justice in very small communities differ from justice in large nation-states? Why do some cultures have bride prices (i.e., groom's family pays bride's family) and others have dowries (i.e., bride's family pays groom's family)? How do cultures differ with respect to the body parts they sexualize? How many cultures across time have used psychedelics? Do all religions make moral demands? How do religions change as the people who practice them grow in number? How strong is the link between religious belief and individual behavior? To what extent are anthropologists conscious of their own behaviors and biases? Why do certain types of false beliefs persist for so long? How do shamanism and witchcraft differ? Aside from their official roles, what de facto roles do shamans play in their communities? What personality traits and/or mental health conditions are linked to wanting to become a shaman? Are any taboos universal across all human cultures? Why are taboos against incest and cannibilism so common? What is the value of anthropology? • Manvir Singh is an anthropologist at the University of California, Davis and a regular contributor to The New Yorker , where he writes about cognitive science, evolution, and cultural diversity. He studies complex cultural traditions that reliably emerge across societies, including dance songs, lullabies, hero stories, shamanism, and institutions of justice. He graduated with a PhD from Harvard University in 2020 and, since 2014, has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Mentawai communities on Siberut Island, Indonesia. He is the author of Shamanism: The Timeless Religion (https://www.amazon.com/Shamanism-Timeless-Religion-Manvir-Singh-ebook/dp/B0DDSFR86M) (2025). Follow him on Twitter / X at @mnvrsngh (https://x.com/mnvrsngh) or @manvir (https://bsky.app/profile/manvir.bsky.social) on Bluesky, or learn more about him on his website, manvir.org (https://manvir.org). • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host / Director • Josh Castle (mailto:joshrcastle@gmail.com) — Producer • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Audio Engineer • 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/265/manvir-singh-shamanism-witchcraft-and-the-power-of-narrative]
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?
