How to Take Back Your Own Mind (ft. Tim Urban)

SOLVED with Mark Manson

Mark Manson

Self-improvement, Education

4.9 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today, I'm joined by my old friend Tim Urban, the mastermind behind the wildly popular blog Wait But Why. Known for his ability to break down complex topics with humor and stick-figure drawings, Tim has captured the attention of millions worldwide. From his early days as a blogger to the release of his first book, "What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies," Tim has consistently delivered thought-provoking content that challenges our understanding of the world around us. In this episode, we dive into pressing issues like unfettered tribalism, the concept of "idea prisons," and the potential impact of AI on society. Tim also shares personal insights as a new parent and teases his upcoming book. It'll challenge your perspectives and leave you craving more of Tim's signature blend of depth, wit, and accessibility. Don't miss this captivating conversation that tackles the complexities of our modern world head-on. Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://markmanson.net/breakthrough Tim’s blog: Wait, But Why?: https://waitbutwhy.com/ Tim’s book: What’s Our Problem: https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Our-Problem-Self-Help-Societies-ebook/dp/B0BTJCTR58 Follow Tim: https://www.instagram.com/timurban https://x.com/waitbutwhy https://www.facebook.com/waitbutwhy Follow me: https://instagram.com/markmanson/ https://twitter.com/IAmMarkManson https://facebook.com/Markmansonnet/ https://linkedin.com/in/markmanson/ https://www.tiktok.com/@iammarkmanson Chapters 01:55 The virtue of changing your mind 05:31 What has Tim changed his mind about 11:43 Are we on the other side of insanity yet? 18:05 How new media platforms shape culture 29:30 AI and tribalism 40:11 Internal and external wars 44:04 Tim on being a new parent 47:34 How Tim's views changed after having a kid 50:29 Tim's next book Theme music: “Icarus Lives” by Periphery, used with permission from Periphery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey everybody, today I am excited to have an old friend of mine, Tim Urban, on the show.
0:05.2	He's a brilliant mind behind the popular blog, Wait But Why, where he breaks down complex topics
0:10.5	in a thoughtful and extremely entertaining way. In 2019, Tim embarked on an ambitious project
0:16.0	called The Story of Us. The goal of the project was to explain why it seemed like everybody was losing
0:21.8	their minds, despite the fact that technology was amazing and everything seemed to be going great.
0:26.0	This eventually evolved into his first book, What's Our Problem? A self-help book for
0:31.1	societies and it was released in 2023. Now the book digs into the psychology behind tribalism
0:36.4	and in-group out-group hatred.
0:38.3	Tim painstakingly explains these mechanisms using real-world present-day examples from both ends of the political spectrum.
0:45.3	Now, as you can imagine, he got canceled by everybody for it.
0:50.3	Now, Tim's writing style, it has depth, wit, and accessibility.
0:53.3	It has earned him praise from world leaders, CEOs of some of the largest companies in the
0:58.2	world, and millions of everyday readers alike.
1:00.8	His work is at the intersection of psychology, politics, science, and technology, always with
1:05.8	an eye toward making the complex feel more understandable.
1:09.6	Today we talk about the psychological roots of tribalism, what it feels like to start hating
1:14.1	an outgroup without realizing it and how you can hopefully stop.
1:18.5	We look at how our minds can become locked inside of idea prisons and what the simple way
1:24.1	out of those idea prisons is.
1:26.5	We disagree briefly on how AI might make our
1:29.0	mental health problems better or worse, what Tim has learned as a new parent, and we get a sneak
1:33.9	peek of his upcoming book on the history of the universe. That's right, it's only a book on the
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mark Manson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Mark Manson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.