Search
Special Issue
Summer 2026
The Opt-Out Nation
This Big Think issue is a collection of stories about the American instinct to opt out, to pack up and go, to tell the boss, “I’d prefer not to.”
1 episode 15 articles
Stop chasing your “one true passion.” It might not exist.
Trying to solve one’s existential dread by finding a singular purpose is a game won only by not playing.
by
Dan Kennedy
“Live deliberately”: The origin of America’s first philosophy
How a culture of independence gave rise to a philosophy of self-reliance, solitude, and inner authority.
A universe with no humans: Strange sci-visions of intelligence escaping us
From Gilded Age space dreams to AI’s cosmic endgame, fiction reveals how the drive to shed obligations to others can escalate.
Stop chasing your “one true passion.” It might not exist.
Trying to solve one’s existential dread by finding a singular purpose is a game won only by not playing.
by
Dan Kennedy
“I would prefer not to”: The mystery behind literature’s most famous act of refusal
The ambiguity of Bartleby shows that opting out can be a form of resistance, retreat, or something harder to judge.
FIND US ON SUBSTACK
Mapped: America’s 10 most creative acts of noncompliance
From Amish Country to Slab City, these are the places where Americans reject the mainstream.
The pressures pushing America toward short-term thinking
A conversation with Richard Haass about reorienting the U.S. toward long-term thinking and reinstating global stability into the 22nd century.
The 221-year-old company that reinvented itself — 4 times
This carriage maker didn’t get wiped out by the automobile. Instead, it became one of the most successful car businesses in European history.
What would you like to learn more about? We have thousands of videos from the world’s biggest thinkers to help you dive deeper into any subject.
Pause the busyness of life to reflect on ourselves, our relationships, and the Universe.
with
Jonny Thomson
5 dangerous lies we tell ourselves, according to philosophy
Throwing away the narratives that pull us down and make us unhappy.
A philosopher’s 5 tips on how to become the most likeable person in the room
Don't reek of onions or take up too much space.
Do parents know best? 3 experiments that tried to replace moms and dads
The family might be a terrible way to raise kids. But it's the best we have.
3 reasons why holidays aren’t making you more relaxed
If you're going to relax, don't do it halfway.
Intimate interviews with the world’s biggest thinkers.
13mins
Mary Beard: Why no film has ever cracked The Odyssey
Classicist Mary Beard explains why you should read The Odyssey before going to see Christopher Nolan's adaptation of the epic.
9mins
The trick that offloads intrusive thoughts so your brain can actually work
David Epstein, author of Range and Inside the Box, breaks down what's actually happening inside the brain when we multitask, and why "just focusing" is a solution that doesn't hold up to reality.
19mins
The unpopular truth about the myth of the lone genius
David Epstein argues that the myth of the lone genius is a story we tell, but the actual history of innovation is far more interesting.
4mins
Play this card game to solve your team’s biggest problem
The $25 card game that unlocks high-achieving teams.
Starts With A Bang podcast #131 – The baryon life cycle
The history of atoms in the Universe is our own history: without them, there would be no us. So how do we piece their cosmic story together?
Ask Ethan: What sets the size of the observable Universe?
For all we know, the cosmos could truly be infinite in scale. But the observable part of our Universe? It's finite, and its size is known.
America pioneered gravitational wave research. Now it may leave it behind.
The LIGO facilities in the U.S. are the most sensitive gravitational wave detectors in the world. Their future remains uncertain.
Forget seeing the Universe’s beginning. It’s already been erased
We used to think the Big Bang started it all. Then we realized that something else came before it, erasing everything that existed prior.
Big ideas. Thoughtful conversations. One book at a time.
What you lose when you stop reading physical books
A gifted paperback sends me down a rabbit hole to discover whether how we read is just as important as what we read.
The 1993 deal that led to “Pulp Fiction” and reinvented Hollywood
Miramax's explosive success with Pulp Fiction ignited an indie boom, rewrote Oscar campaigns, and blurred the line between independent cinema and the Hollywood mainstream.
The terrifying reality of being enslaved by the Roman army
A tombstone reveals the life story of a man who endured the brutal reality of Roman war and slavery.
Why your brain gets hung up on troubling thoughts — and what to do about it
The brain’s default mode network gives rise to costly ruminations, but it can also be a source of creative breakthroughs.
Learn business from the world’s biggest thinkers.
Play it again: The causal link between fun and resilience
Fun in business is no laughing matter — it can create a golden strategic advantage and bring serious success in the long term.
The 250-year-old company that survived by refusing to lay people off
What would your company do if it lost all its customers at once?
The 3 stories every leader needs to inspire successful transformations
Directives rarely inspire change. The most effective leaders use stories to make transformation memorable, resonant, and actionable.
Mapped: How Islam (not Germanic invaders) likely ended antiquity
Economists examining half a million ancient coins trace the end of Rome — and the rise of northern Europe — to the 7th century.
Why do we divide politics into left vs. right? Blame France.
Our left-vs.-right conception of politics was born in revolutionary France. The maps that followed were more sophisticated, but each carries a bias of its own.
Cathedral of bones: Inside the world’s largest, deepest, and oldest whale graveyard
In a lightless canyon at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, Earth has been quietly collecting dead whales. Scientists have just discovered the archive.
Follow the money: Mapping millionaire migration across America
Since 2018, around 103,000 millionaires moved out of California — and 133,000 millionaires moved in to Florida
Where science meets the human story.
A physicist explains what the Kardashev scale gets wrong
The famous framework ranks civilizations by energy use — but ignores a critical factor that can halt their progress.
Why organisms are more than machines
Sixty years ago, a little-known philosopher challenged how science understands life. His perspective is finding new relevance in the age of artificial intelligence.
Aerial aliens: Why cloudy worlds might make detecting life easier
Astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger spoke with Big Think about how "the colors of life" could leave detectable traces on distant planets.
The next great leap in evolution may lie beyond Earth
NASA’s Caleb Scharf talks with Big Think about life’s long experiment in expansion.