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Deep Background with Noah Feldman

Sneak Preview: The Other Side of Change by Maya Shankar

Deep Background with Noah Feldman

Pushkin Industries

News Commentary, News, Government

4.4848 Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Maya Shankar, host of Pushkin's A Slight Change of Plans podcast, just released a new book, "The Other Side of Change". To celebrate, we're sharing an exclusive excerpt with the Pushkin community. It's about what first sparked Maya’s interest in change, and the story of a woman named Olivia Lewis.

Order “The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans” at changewithmaya.com/book, or wherever you like to buy books.

About The Other Side of Change:
Life has a way of thwarting our best-laid plans. Out of nowhere, we’re confronting the end of a relationship, an unexpected diagnosis, the loss of a job, or some other twist of fate. In these moments, it can feel like we’re free-falling into the unknown.

As a cognitive scientist, Maya Shankar has spent decades studying the human mind. When an unwanted change in her own life left her reeling, she sought out people who had navigated major disruptions. In "The Other Side of Change", Shankar tells their riveting, singular stories and weaves in scientific insights to illuminate universal lessons hidden within them.

When a big change happens to us, it can lead to profound change within us. The unique stresses and demands of being thrust into a new reality can lead us to uncover new abilities, perspectives, and values, transforming us in extraordinary ways. What if we saw moments of upheaval as an opportunity to reimagine who we can be, rather than as something to just endure? Whether you’re processing a past change, grappling with a present one, or bracing for a future one, this book is a wise and thought-provoking companion to help you discover who you can become on the other side of change.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is an I-Heart podcast.

0:02.5

Guaranteed Human.

0:04.0

There are moments in each of our lives that seem to change everything.

0:08.3

An unexpected diagnosis, the sudden end of a relationship, the loss of a job.

0:13.4

As our lives fear off course, it can feel like time is dividing into a before and an after.

0:19.5

I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist,

0:22.6

and my new book, The Other Side of Change,

0:25.3

Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans,

0:28.0

is all about how we navigate these inflection points.

0:31.2

The other side of change pairs singular real-life stories

0:34.4

with scientific insights to help us find meaning in the tumult of change.

0:39.3

What if we saw the hardest moments in our lives, not simply as something to endure,

0:44.1

but as an opportunity to reimagine who we can be?

0:47.4

I'm thrilled to share that booklist gave The Other Side of Change one of its coveted starred

0:52.4

reviews, saying, quote, it's impossible not to be moved. The other side of change, one of its coveted starred reviews, saying, quote, it's impossible not to be moved. The other side of change is out now. Get your copy

1:00.0

today wherever you like to buy books. Pushkin.

1:11.1

Hey, Slight Changers.

1:11.6

We're in.

1:12.6

We in the Slight Change family have been hard at work

1:30.7

preparing new episodes for you in 2026, and I can't wait for you to hear the lineup. But first,

1:37.4

today is a very special day because my book, The Other Side of Change, Who We Become,

1:43.5

when life makes otherans, is officially

...

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