The Examined Life

Meaning & Mortality - Reflections On Series 4

We pull together the strongest takeaways from months of conversations on death, grief, and loss, and we share why these topics reach so many people despite how easy they

Douglas Davies - Death and the myth of the individual

What does death reveal about who we really are? This week I'm joined by Professor Douglas Davies, Director of the Centre for Death and Life Studies at Durham Univer

Anthea Lawson - Should we be trying to save the world?

What does it mean to try to change the world — without losing yourself, or everyone else, in the process? This week I'm joined by Anthea Lawson: activist, writer, f

Gavin Francis - How should we live?

Gavin Francis is a GP in Edinburgh, and also one of the best writers I know of on what it means to be a body moving through a life. In this conversation we got into terri

Stephen Cave - How Long Should We Live?

Stephen Cave is a philosopher, writer, and Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge. His work sits at the intersect

Kathryn Mannix - Is mortality a threat or a catalyst?

Mortality: Threat or Catalyst? A Conversation with Dr. Kathryn Mannix In this episode of The Examined Life, Kenny Primrose is in conversation with writer, speaker, and r

Dr BJ Miller - How are you grieving?

BJ Miller on Loss, Meaning, and Learning to Feel In this conversation, Kenny Primrose speaks with palliative care physician BJ Miller, co-founder of Mettle Health, about

Dr Lucy Hone - What has loss taught you?

Learning from Loss with Dr. Lucy Hone How do you survive the unthinkable? When resilience researcher Dr. Lucy Hone lost her 12-year-old daughter in a tragic accident, sh

Season Trailer - Mortality & Meaning

A short trailer for the forthcoming season where we explore mortality, immortality, loss, grief and finding meaning in the wake of them.  In the above clip you'll h

Flourishing in a Digital Age

We explore what human flourishing means beyond quick hits of happiness and how attention, character, and community shape a life with depth. We offer practical ways to set

Surviving Hard Times: The Stockdale Paradox And Everyday Resilience - ft. Terry Waite and Lucy Hone

We trace how realistic hope sustains people through captivity and crisis, from the Stockdale Paradox to Sir Terry Waite’s agency in confinement, and preview Dr. Lucy Hone

Victor Strecher - Who am I?

Living With Purpose: Insights from Victor Strecher In this episode of The Examined Life Podcast, host Kenny Primrose explores the profound questions of life's purpo

Sir Anthony Seldon - What is the purpose of education?

Sir Anthony Seldon is one of the most influential voices in the UK on education. He has led three prominent independent school, and written or edited more than 40 books.

LM Sacasas on why life should not be delegated

In this brief episode we explore a short soundbite from a previous episode with philosopher of technology LM Sacasas. In it we explore the way that efficiency and ease mi

Leaning into Pain with Anna Lembke

Comfort is easy; appetite is sacred. We trace a surprising path to steadier happiness by leaning, gently but deliberately, into friction. Drawing on psychiatrist Anna Lem

Dr Alex Curmi - how should we prepare for a technological future?

Dr Alex Curmi is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who also hosts The Thinking Mind podcast, and is a gifted communicator on mental health and self-development.  Alex&a

Tom Chatfield - What myths are we telling ourselves about technology?

Technology is taking on a mythic mantle as we look to our creations to supply us with a sense of belonging and purpose, but this is a category error because tech cannot h

Rosie Spinks - What Do We Do Now That We're Here?

Rosie Spinks Substack - https://rojospinks.substack.com/about Kenny Primrose Substack - https://positivelymaladjusted.substack.com/ Moby Gratis Music - https://mobygrat

Ruth Taylor - How do we develop better cultural values?

Ruth Taylor explores how our cultural conditions shape our values and beliefs, revealing how we can build futures where humans and other life forms flourish together on o

William Damon - Am I serving a bigger purpose than myself?

What does it mean to live a purposeful life? Is the way you're spending your time truly reflective of your deepest values and aspirations? These questions stand at t