The Stories That Shape Us (And How to Rewrite Them)
This week, we questioned the myths that limit our thinking.
We live inside stories, stories about what’s true, what’s possible, and who we are. But those stories aren’t fixed: they’re shaped by the tools we use, the beliefs we inherit, and the habits we practice every day. This week, we learned how to take back control of the narratives we tell ourselves about ourselves.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Podcast
What happens when everyone can tell stories to everyone?
We tend to think of storytelling as a timeless human constant. But the tools we use to tell stories keep changing, and every new storytelling technology quietly rewires what we believe, what we fear, and who gets to shape reality.
This week, we’re joined by Kevin Ashton, whose new book The Story of Stories traces the million-year arc from campfire tales to the smartphone, and argues we may be approaching the most disruptive storytelling tech yet: AI-generated media that looks and feels indistinguishable from the real thing.
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or watch on YouTube.
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Book Bite of the Week
Could your beliefs be holding you back?
Beyond Belief starts with a provocative premise: what if the biggest thing holding most of us back is not a lack of discipline, talent, or information, but the beliefs we treat as immovable facts? In this science-backed guide, Nir Eyal and Julie Li unpack how we confuse facts, faith, and beliefs, and how that confusion quietly shapes our choices, our relationships, and our sense of what’s possible. The payoff is practical and empowering: a framework for updating limiting beliefs with better evidence, and for building the kind of “radical nuance” and intellectual humility that’s in short supply right now Check out Nir’s summary on the Next Big Idea app, or pick up a copy of the book on Amazon.
This week’s Book of the Day sponsor is CONTROL by Glen Galaich, a provocative look at who really benefits from big philanthropy.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Daily Podcast
What if creativity is just a 5-minute habit?
We love to romanticize creativity as something you’re either born with or not. But what if it’s less like a lightning bolt and more like brushing your teeth: a small daily practice that compounds?
Blythe Harris shares big ideas from her new book Daily Creative: The 5-Minute Habit to Rewire Your Brain, co-written by Mallory May. It’s a reset for anyone who wants to feel more alive, more playful, and a little less stuck.
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
This edition of Book of the Day is sponsored by Granola. Get three months free at granola.ai/idea.
🎉 Happy Publication Week! 🎉
The following Next Big Idea Club Must-Read authors got to celebrate the publication of their books this week — congratulations to them all! 📖 Join us in reading and discussing these exciting new releases:
Neal Allen and Anne Lamott, Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences
Anthony Klotz, Jolted: Why We Quit, When to Stay, and Why It Matters
Bill Gifford, Hotwired: How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger
Krista Lawlor, Being Reasonable: The Case for a Misunderstood Virtue
Jo Marchant, In Search of Now