On Wisdom

69: Special Series Episode 1: Exemplars and Narratives

September 28th, 2026  |  41 mins 7 secs

Happiness, Philosophy, barry schwartz, cristine legare, dan mcadams, dilip jeste, emotions, eranda jayawickreme, exemplars, gordon pennycook, interventions, judgment, judith glück, justin brienza, kristján kristjánsson, laurie paul, meaning, measuring wisdom, metacognition, monika ardelt, narratives, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social science, steven fleming, tom costello, training ethan kross, well being, wisdom

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011.

Episode 1: Exemplars and Narratives (with Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul)

When we face life challenges, where do our ideas about wise judgment, or even wisdom writ large come from, and how do they shape the way we work through such challenges and live thereafter? Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul join Igor and Charles to explore the stories, proverbs, and exemplars we inherit, and what happens when they don't quite fit the situation in front of us. Cristine reveals why the ideas that stick with us aren't necessarily the ones that are true, Dan explores how the stories we tell about ourselves can help us navigate uncertainty (or trap us in the wrong story), and Laurie asks who (or what) is doing the choosing, if we can’t know in advance how a life-changing decision will transform us?

68: Special Series Trailer: 5 Episodes on the Science of Wisdom

September 16th, 2026  |  2 mins 4 secs

Happiness, Philosophy, barry schwartz, cristine legare, dan mcadams, dilip jeste, emotions, eranda jayawickreme, exemplars, gordon pennycook, interventions, judgment, judith glück, justin brienza, kristján kristjánsson, laurie paul, meaning, measuring wisdom, metacognition, monika ardelt, narratives, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social science, steven fleming, tom costello, training ethan kross, well being, wisdom

From 28th September
Hosted by Igor Grossmann and Charles Cassidy
01 - EXEMPLARS AND NARRATIVES
Cristine Legare - Dan McAdams - Laurie Paul
02 - METACOGNITION AND JUDGMENT
Gordon Pennycook - Tom Costello - Steven Fleming
03 - MEASURING WISDOM
Judith Glück - Monika Ardelt - Eranda Jayawickreme
04 - INTERVENTIONS AND TRAINING
Judith Glück - Ethan Kross - Kristján Kristjánsson
05 - WISDOM FRONTIERS
Dilip Jeste - Barry Schwartz - Justin Brienza

45: Wisdom at Work (with Barry Schwartz) - Rebroadcast

June 7th, 2022  |  59 mins 20 secs

Feedback, Money, Work, aristotle, barry schwartz, character, free-rider, freelancers, idea technology, incentives, practical wisdom, rules, salary, virtue ethics, wisdom, workplace

(First Broadcast - 28th December 2018)

Can we design our workplaces to generate wiser behaviour? Why do we work anyway, and would we still work if we didn’t get paid? Do employers even want their employees to develop wisdom? Barry Schwartz joins Igor and Charles to discuss how Aristotle’s Practical Wisdom applies in the 21st Century, the reasons why we work, idea technology, the unintended consequences of rules-based systems, and the moral dangers and limits of incentives. Igor proposes the idea of algorithm-based wise machines, Barry suggests companies hire for character rather than skill, and Charles learns why, in wiser work places, the cost of free-riders may well be a price worth paying.

42: Reflections on Wisdom in the World after Covid

October 23rd, 2021  |  37 mins 36 secs

Compassion, Predictions, acknowledge uncertainty, agency, anand menon, authoritarianism, autobiographical memory, barry schwartz, bipartisanship, care for elders, career disruptions, connectedness, control, coronavirus, covid-19, critical thinking, cultural change, despair, economic hardship, educational inequality, follow rules, forecast, gratitude, hope, improved communication, intellectual humility, intimate relation, irrationality, loneliness, long-term orientation, michael bond, mistrust, nature, nicholas christakis, optimism, patience, perspective-taking, pessimism, political conflict, political cooperation, political engagement, prosocial behavior, resilience, science interest, self-distancing, shared humanity, social awareness, social inequality, social support, society, solidarity, structural change, sympathy, togetherness, trust, wac2020, wisdom, work-life balance, worldaftercovid

On Wisdom dissects the latest research emerging from the field of wisdom research and discusses what it might mean for each of us and for society in terms of reasoning and living more wisely in the 21st Century.

36: World After Covid series: Positive Consequences (Part II) - Political cooperation, Nature, Solidarity, and Prosocial behaviours

April 13th, 2021  |  44 mins

Compassion, Predictions, acknowledge uncertainty, agency, authoritarianism, autobiographical memory, barry schwartz, bipartisanship, care for elders, career disruptions, connectedness, control, coronavirus, covid-19, critical thinking, cultural change, dagomar degroot, despair, economic hardship, educational inequality, follow rules, forecast, gratitude, hope, improved communication, intellectual humility, intimate relation, irrationality, katie mclaughlin, loneliness, long-term orientation, mistrust, nature, optimism, patience, perspective-taking, pessimism, political conflict, political cooperation, political engagement, prosocial behavior, resilience, science interest, self-distancing, shared humanity, shinobu kitayama, social awareness, social inequality, social support, society, solidarity, structural change, sympathy, togetherness, trust, wac2020, wisdom, work-life balance, worldaftercovid

On Wisdom dissects the latest research emerging from the field of wisdom research and discusses what it might mean for each of us and for society in terms of reasoning and living more wisely in the 21st Century.

Episode 11: Wisdom at Work (with Barry Schwartz)

December 28th, 2018  |  58 mins 40 secs

Feedback, Money, Work, aristotle, barry schwartz, character, free-rider, freelancers, idea technology, incentives, practical wisdom, rules, salary, virtue ethics, wisdom, workplace

Can we design our workplaces to generate wiser behaviour? Why do we work anyway, and would we still work if we didn’t get paid? Do employers even want their employees to develop wisdom? Barry Schwartz joins Igor and Charles to discuss how Aristotle’s Practical Wisdom applies in the 21st Century, the reasons why we work, idea technology, the unintended consequences of rules-based systems, and the moral dangers and limits of incentives. Igor proposes the idea of algorithm-based wise machines, Barry suggests companies hire for character rather than skill, and Charles learns why, in wiser work places, the cost of free-riders may well be a price worth paying. Welcome to Episode 11.