All Episodes
Direct Pursuit of Happiness and Community Leads to Isolation
Directly pursuing happiness and community can be self-defeating, leading to isolation. True connection emerges indirectly through vulnerability and honesty, not engineered proximity.
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Zappos' Profit Paradox--Happiness Pursuit Undermines Business Goals
Prioritizing purpose over profit paradoxically boosts profitability, but radical management systems can undermine happiness by creating uncertainty and removing career paths.
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Patent Thickets, Hire-Purchase, and Women's Economic Liberation
A patent thicket stalled sewing machines, but a rent-to-own model and ethically complex innovation ultimately empowered women and transformed markets.
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Shannon's Polymathic Approach Fuels Breakthrough Innovation
Breakthrough innovation thrives on diverse exploration, not narrow focus. Shannon's career reveals how "frittering" and abandoning projects fuels genius, challenging the notion that relentless pursuit of one goal guarantees success.
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Spiritualism, Grief, and Photographic Deception: The Cottingley Fairy Hoax
Strong conviction overrides logic, even for Sherlock Holmes' creator, as a 65-year fairy photo hoax reveals how desire shapes belief and confounds experts.
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Design for Actual Play--Not Theoretical Ideals
Design games and policies for how people *actually* play and live, not theoretical ideals, to ensure engagement and prevent unintended consequences.
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Flixborough Disaster: Temporary Repairs and Centralized Production's Fatal Flaws
A temporary pipe bypass, designed in 30 hours, led to the catastrophic Flixborough explosion, revealing the dangers of prioritizing speed over engineering safety in centralized mega-factories.
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Grace Oakeshott's Faked Death: Escaping Victorian Constraints for Autonomy
Victorian women seeking autonomy faced impossible choices. Grace Oakeshott faked her death to escape societal ruin and build a new life abroad, highlighting the era's stark constraints on personal freedom.
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Founding Member Perks: Live Table Read and Exclusive Content Access
Witness an unreleased episode's creation: join a live script table read and offer editorial feedback as a founding Cautionary Club member.
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Giving Generates Happiness: Overcoming Barriers to Kindness
Giving boosts happiness, but psychological friction prevents action; this episode unlocks strategies to overcome it and experience profound joy through generosity.
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Piltdown Man: The Forgery That Fooled Science
Science's pursuit of "interesting" discoveries can obscure truth, as the Piltdown Man hoax and modern behavioral science frauds reveal, wasting years of research and potentially harming lives.
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Letting Go: Bottled Riddles and Parental Possessions
Unresolved regret surfaces when we can't let go of possessions, memories, or control, but external validation and mortality's shadow can force profound change and acceptance.
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Kyoto's Climate Battle: Doubt, Heroes, and Enduring Lessons
Lobbyists waged war, island nations pleaded for survival, and a surprising hero emerged from the dramatic Kyoto climate negotiations, defining global climate politics.
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Pareidolia: How Our Brains Heard Satan in Rock Music
Uncover the science behind the 1980s "Satanic Panic" and discover why your brain *wants* to hear hidden messages, even when they're not there.
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Obsession, Death, and the Allure of Forrest Fenn's Poisoned Treasure
Obsession and tragedy fuel Forrest Fenn's treasure hunt as seekers chase riches, finding purpose, danger, and death in the cryptic clues, ultimately revealing complex human motivations.
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Forrest Fenn: Maverick Art Dealer and Perilous Treasure Legacy
Forrest Fenn built a million-dollar art empire by mastering perception, then launched a dangerous treasure hunt that spiraled out of control, captivating and endangering thousands.
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