Does a surplus of information create a shortage of attention? Are today’s young people really unable to focus? And do goldfish need better PR?

• SOURCES:
  • Neil Bradbury, professor of physiology at Rosalind Franklin University.
  • Nicholas Carr, writer and journalist.
  • Johann Hari, writer and journalist.
  • Charles Howard, University Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity & Community at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Felicity Huntingford, emeritus professor of functional ecology at the university of Glasgow.
  • Gloria Mark, professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine.
  • Rick Rubin, music producer and record executive.
  • Herbert Simon, professor of computer science and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.

• RESOURCES:
  • Uncovering Your Path: Spiritual Reflections for Finding Your Purpose, by Charles Lattimore Howard (forthcoming 2025).
  • Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, by Gloria Mark (2023).
  • The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick Rubin (2023).
  • Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann Hari (2022).
  • "Quibi’s Founder and CEO Explain What Went Wrong," by Jessica Bursztynsky (CNBC, 2020).
  • "Digital Democracy Survey, Eleventh Edition," by Deloitte (2017).
  • "Busting the Attention Span Myth," by Simon Maybin (BBC News, 2017).
  • "Attention Span During Lectures: 8 Seconds, 10 Minutes, or More?" by Neil Bradbury (Advances in Physiology Education, 2016).
  • "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr (The Atlantic, 2008).
  • "Designing Organizations for an Information-Rich World," by Herbert Simon (Computers, Communications, and the Public Interest, 1971).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "Rick Rubin on How to Make Something Great," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).

What’s the difference between narcissism and high self-esteem? Does social media fuel arrogance or self-consciousness? And do people get less toxic with age?

• SOURCES:
  • Brené Brown, research professor at the University of Houston and visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin.
  • Jonathan Haidt, professor of social psychology at the New York University Stern School of Business.
  • Michael Lewis, author.
  • Cooper McAllister, senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.
  • Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University.

• RESOURCES:
  • "‘Narcissistic Abuse’ Has Gone Mainstream. But What Is It?" Abby Ellin (The Washington Post, 2024).
  • "Development of Narcissism Across the Life Span: A Meta-Analytic Review of Longitudinal Studies," by Ulrich Orth, Samantha Krauss, and Mitja D. Back (Psychological Bulletin, 2024).
  • The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt (2024).
  • "America Is Obsessed With Narcissists. Is Trump to Blame?" by Charles Trepany (USA Today, 2024).
  • "Narcissism Today: What We Know and What We Need to Learn," by Joshua D. Miller, Mitja D. Back, Donald R. Lynam, and Aidan G. C. Wright (Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2021).
  • "Egos Deflating With the Great Recession: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis and Within-Campus Analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, 1982–2016," by Jean M. Twenge, Sara H. Konrath, Cooper McAllister, et al. (Personality and Individual Differences, 2021).
  • "Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Diagnostic and Clinical Challenges," by Eve Caligor, Kenneth N. Levy, and Frank E. Yeomans (American Journal of Psychiatry, 2015).
  • Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before, by Jean Twenge (2006).
  • Cincinnatus and the Citizen-Servant Ideal: The Roman Legend's Life, Times, and Legacy, by Michael J. Hillyard (2001).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is Screen Time as Poisonous as We Think?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "Do 'Generations' Mean Anything?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "Is Pride the Worst Sin?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis (2010).

How many bottles of wine are regifted? What’s wrong with giving cash? And should Angela give her husband a subscription to the Sausage of the Month Club?

• SOURCES:
  • Joel Waldfogel, professor of strategic management & entrepreneurship at the University of Minnesota.

• RESOURCES:
  • “How to Become a Truly Excellent Gift Giver,” by Eliza Brooke (Vox, 2022).
  • “How to Calculate a Holiday Tip for the Doorman,” by Ronda Kaysen (The New York Times, 2022).
  • “Least Favorite Gifts to Receive for Christmas in the United States in 2022, by Generation,” (Statista, 2022).
  • “(Not) Giving the Same Old Song and Dance: Givers’ Misguided Concerns About Thoughtfulness and Boringness Keep Them From Repeating Gifts,” by Julian Givi (Journal of Business Research, 2020).
  • “Does Anyone Really Buy the Giant Car Bows You See in Every Commercial?” by Aditi Shrikant (Vox, 2018).
  • “It’s the Motive That Counts: Perceived Sacrifice Motives and Gratitude in Romantic Relationships,” by Mariko L. Visserman, Francesca Righetti, Emily A. Impett, Dacher Keltner, and Paul A. M. Van Lange (Emotion, 2018).
  • “Why Certain Gifts Are Great to Give but Not to Get: A Framework for Understanding Errors in Gift Giving,” by Jeff Galak, Julian Givi, and Elanor F. Williams (Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2016).
  • “The Girl Who Gets Gifts From Birds,” by Katy Sewall (B.B.C. News, 2015).
  • “The Disappointing Gift: Dispositional and Situational Moderators of Emotional Expressions,” by Renée M. Tobin and William G. Graziano (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2011).
  • Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Presents for the Holidays, by Joel Waldfogel (2009).
  • “The Deadweight Loss of Christmas,” by Joel Waldfogel (The American Economic Review, 1993).
  • United States Postal Service Employee Tipping and Gift-Receiving Policy.

• EXTRAS:
  • “Have a Very Homo Economicus Christmas,” by Freakonomics Radio (2012).