On Wisdom

73: Special Series Episode 5: Wisdom Frontiers

October 26th, 2026  |  55 mins 50 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

Can wisdom live beyond the individual, in the organizations we build, and the technologies we create? In the final episode of our special series, Dilip Jeste, Barry Schwartz, and Justin Brienza join Igor and Charles to explore the frontiers of wisdom research, from neuroscience to the design of wiser institutions. Dilip takes us inside the brain systems involved in empathy, emotion regulation, and perspective-taking, while explaining why measuring wisdom remains such a challenge. Barry turns to the organizations we spend our lives in, revealing how even well-intentioned people can make poor judgments when the culture around them gets in the way, and why better decisions depend on creating environments where people can learn from their mistakes. Justin asks how we might build wisdom into institutions themselves, from red-teaming and premortems to incentives that encourage dissent, stewardship, and collective responsibility. The series arrives at one final question: if we can build machines that are increasingly intelligent, what would it mean to make them wise?

72: Special Series Episode 4: Interventions and Training

October 19th, 2026  |  50 mins 20 secs

Happiness, Philosophy, barry schwartz, cristine legare, dan mcadams, dilip jeste, emotions, eranda jayawickreme, exemplars, gord pennycook, interventions, judgment, judith glück, justin brienza, kristján kristjánsson, laurie paul, meaning, measuring wisdom, metacognition, monika ardelt, narratives, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social science, steve fleming, thomas 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 4: Interventions and Training (with Judith Glück, Ethan Kross, and Kristján Kristjánsson)

Can we actually learn to be wiser? Judith Glück, Ethan Kross, and Kristján Kristjánsson join Igor and Charles to explore what it takes to develop better judgment, and why getting older or going through difficult experiences doesn't necessarily make us wiser. Judith explains why even people with the right knowledge and reasoning skills can struggle to use them when emotions take over, Ethan reveals how stepping back from our own problems can help us see them in a new light, and Kristján explores the ancient idea of practical wisdom, why it matters for moral development, and how it might be cultivated. Igor and Charles reflect on why experience alone isn't enough, and what it takes to turn difficult situations into opportunities for wiser judgment. But can we take what we know about individual wisdom and use it to build wiser organizations and societies?

71: Special Series Episode 3: Measuring Wisdom

October 12th, 2026  |  55 mins 30 secs

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

Judith Glück, Monika Ardelt, and Eranda Jayawickreme

70: Special Series Episode 2: Metacognition and Judgment

October 5th, 2026  |  39 mins 10 secs

Happiness, Philosophy, barry schwartz, cristine legare, dan mcadams, dilip jeste, emotions, eranda jayawickreme, exemplars, gord pennycook, interventions, judgment, judith glück, justin brienza, kristján kristjánsson, laurie paul, meaning, measuring wisdom, metacognition, monika ardelt, narratives, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social science, steve fleming, thomas 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 2: Metacognition and Judgment (with Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello)

Is thinking harder always the key to making better decisions, or can it sometimes make things worse? Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello join Igor and Charles to explore what happens when we start thinking about our own thinking. Gord reveals why intelligence and rationality aren't the same thing, and why simply thinking more isn't necessarily the answer, Steve takes us inside the machinery that helps us monitor and regulate our decisions, and Thomas explores what intellectual humility is, how we might recognize it, and why being confident about our own competence can be so misleading. Along the way, Igor and Charles uncover a three-part cycle at the heart of wise judgment: seeking input, resolving conflicts, and monitoring what happens next. So what does it take to become better at knowing what we know, and what we don't?

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.