What Happens When You Die?
We get mystical with Sebastian Junger, joyful with Arthur Brooks, and learn how to avoid scams.
This week, we’re in the business of solving mysteries. Not the whodunit kind—though those are fun—but the bigger ones: What happens after death? What’s the secret to happiness? And of course, Should I really send money to that Nigerian prince? Some puzzles are tougher than others, of course, but the good news is we’ve got a lineup of big thinkers here to help crack the code.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Podcast
Sebastian Junger’s Journey to the Edge and Back
On a June night several years ago, Sebastian Junger, bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo, lay on an operating table, dying. An undiagnosed aneurysm in his pancreatic artery had ruptured, flooding his abdominal cavity with blood. His odds of survival were between 10 and 20 percent. "I said, 'Doc, you've got to hurry. You're losing me right now. I'm going.'" This near-death experience inspired him to embark on a scientific, philosophical, and profoundly personal exploration of what happens after we die. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Book Bite of the Week
If you think you’d never fall for a scam, I’ve got bad news: that’s exactly what scammers want you to think. The truth is, con artists don’t outsmart you—they out-feel you, playing on your emotions until you can’t see the red flags waving right in front of your face. Emmy-winning TV producer and host of Queen of the Con Johnathan Walton knows this firsthand—he lost nearly $100,000 to a scammer he thought was his best friend. In his new book Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves, he shows how to spot the tricks before they spot you. Pick up a copy on Amazon or listen to Johnathon’s audio summary in the Next Big Idea app.
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This Week on the Next Big Idea Daily Podcast
How to Run Your Life Like a Startup
Happiness might not sound like a business strategy, but Arthur C. Brooks—Harvard professor, Atlantic columnist, and all-around happiness guru—says it’s the most important metric of all. In his new book The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life, Arthur argues that your life is a startup, and you’re the founder, CEO, and maybe even the unpaid intern. Which means you’ve got to manage your most important asset: yourself. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This Week on Author Insider
Writing can be a lonely pursuit. That’s why anyone aspiring to communicate for a living should check out our growing community at Author Insider. Coming up, we’ll have workshops with authors and publishing luminaries like Charles Duhigg and Katy Milkman to help you take your career to the next level. Check out Author Insider today.
Happy Pub Week!
Four new books hit bookstores this week that have earned the Next Big Idea Club Must-Read seal of approval. Check out Primal Intelligence by Angus Fletcher, Here Comes the Sun by Bill McKibben, Anatomy of a Con Artist by Johnathan Walton, and Good Anger by Sam Parker.