Beauty At Work

Brandon Vaidyanathan

Beauty at Work expands our understanding of beauty: what it is, how it works, and why it matters. Sociologist Brandon Vaidyanathan interviews scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders across diverse fields to reveal new insights into how beauty shapes our brains, behaviors, organizations, and societies--for good and for ill. Learn how to harness the power of beauty in your life and work, while avoiding its pitfalls.

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Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

Yearning for wholeness with Elizabeth Oldfield (Part 2 of 2)
4d ago
Yearning for wholeness with Elizabeth Oldfield (Part 2 of 2)
Elizabeth Oldfield is the author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. She has spent her career trying to lever open space for deeper conversations - about what it means to be a human being, where we can find wisdom and how we build a society where we hate each other a little less. She has worked at BBC Radio 4, led a Westminster think tank, and is now the host of The Sacred podcast, speaking to guests like Nick Cave, Sally Philips, Rabbi Sacks, Rainn Wilson, Sathnam Sanghera and Krista Tippett about their deepest values. She lives with her family in a Christian intentional community in South London.In this second part of our conversation, we talk about:Moving beyond individualismMoving from wrath to peacemakingMoving from greed to generosity and gratitudeFinding freedom in commitmentThe concept of GodTo learn more about Elizabeth and her work:LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-oldfield-5a5b6216 Website: https://www.elizabetholdfield.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethsaraholdfield/ X: https://x.com/esoldfield Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times: https://a.co/d/4iFq69r Substack Newsletter: https://morefullyalive.substack.com/ Larger Us Organization: https://larger.us/ The Sacred podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=1326888108This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) andTempleton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show
Yearning for wholeness with Elizabeth Oldfield (Part 1 of 2)
Sep 24 2024
Yearning for wholeness with Elizabeth Oldfield (Part 1 of 2)
Elizabeth Oldfield is the author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. She has spent her career trying to lever open space for deeper conversations - about what it means to be a human being, where we can find wisdom and how we build a society where we hate each other a little less. She has worked at BBC Radio 4, led a Westminster think tank, and is now the host of The Sacred podcast, speaking to guests like Nick Cave, Sally Philips, Rabbi Sacks, Rainn Wilson, Sathnam Sanghera and Krista Tippett about their deepest values. She lives with her family in a Christian intentional community in South London.In this first part of our conversation, we talk about:How cultural narratives shape our understanding of the worldMaking sense of our turbulent timesHow religious traditions can be a source of wisdom The concept of sin as our tendency to f*** things upOur deep need for connection To learn more about Elizabeth and her work:LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-oldfield-5a5b6216 Website: https://www.elizabetholdfield.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethsaraholdfield/ X: https://x.com/esoldfield Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times: https://a.co/d/4iFq69r Substack Newsletter: https://morefullyalive.substack.com/ Larger Us Organization: https://larger.us/ The Sacred podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=1326888108This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) andTempleton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show
Longing for Integration with Andy Youniss  (Part 1 of 2)
Sep 10 2024
Longing for Integration with Andy Youniss (Part 1 of 2)
In this episode, sociologist Brandon Vaidyanathan interviews Andy Youniss, founder and former President and CEO of Rocket Software. Andy has been the guiding force behind Rocket’s innovation, acquisitions, partnerships, strategy, culture, and values since the company launched in 1990. Today, Rocket serves a diverse customer community all around the globe and continues to differentiate itself by delivering exceptional customer experiences and living its core values of empathy, humanity, trust, and love. Andy currently serves as the company's executive chairman.Andy has been recognized as New England Technology Entrepreneur of the Year (2017) by EY and is one of the world’s foremost experts on making an impact through innovation in, and modernization of, mission-critical legacy technology. He has been a guest lecturer at Babson College, Berklee College of Music, The Catholic University of America, and Tufts University, and has inspired many through his TEDx talk about the meaningful intersection of music and technology throughout his life. In addition to his role as executive chairman at Rocket, Andy is a trustee at Boston Medical Center and at Berklee.  He also mentors, coaches, and advises rising leaders and growing organizations such as Spoonfuls, The Record Co. and We Make Noise.Youniss is also an accomplished pianist and guitarist who has performed on stage in Boston and Las Vegas, solo and with the Rocket Band, and has opened for Aerosmith, Elton John, Maroon 5, Gwen Stefani, Elvis Costello, and others.In this first part of our conversation, we talk about:The impact of Andy's early musical experiencesHow Andy developed a passion for software developmentThe role of music in integrating personal and professional lifeThe beauty of problem-solving in both music and softwareThe transformative power of creativity and personal expressionTo learn more about Andy and his work at Rocket Software, you can find him at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-youniss-3093b664 Website: https://www.rocketsoftware.com/ X: https://x.com/Rocket This episode is sponsored by:John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/)Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show
Longing for Belonging - with Ron Ivey and Monika Jiang (Part 2 of 2)
Sep 3 2024
Longing for Belonging - with Ron Ivey and Monika Jiang (Part 2 of 2)
This episode is a conversation with two experts combating our current loneliness crisis: Ron Ivey and Monika Jiang.Ron Ivey is a writer, researcher, and strategic advisor to business, governments, and philanthropies with a focus on social trust, belonging, and human flourishing.  Ron is currently the Managing Director of the Humanity 2.0 Institute and a Research Fellow at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program where he co-leads the Trust and Belonging Initiative. Ron also currently serves as a Fellow at the Centre for Public Impact, a global think tank seeking to re-imagine government and restore relationships between governments and those they govern. In 2017, Ron established a consultancy, Rembrandt Collective, to shape business strategies for trust, alignment and social impact.Monika Jiang, a second-generation Chinese immigrant, has always walked the line between feeling estranged and belonging. Her journey, marked by oscillations between aloneness, loneliness, and connection, has profoundly influenced her personal and professional life, shaping her into a visionary who senses what wants to emerge as we move closer to ourselves, each other, and the world. Professionally, Monika has made a significant impact at the House of Beautiful Business. Here, she helped build a global community of 50,000 members dedicated to a life-centered economy. Monika’s deep desire to move from loneliness to oneliness inspired her to found the initiative Sharing Our Loneliness. This initiative aims to raise awareness about the paradoxical power of loneliness to reconnect us with ourselves and others. Through intimate gatherings, writing, and speaking engagements, Monika cultivates spaces for dialogue, connection, and community, addressing loneliness as a personal, collective, and societal challenge. Additionally, she is a teacher in training with Humanize, an evidence-based program focused on fostering emotional and social skills, and she practices these skills based on social neuroscientific research at the Max-Planck Institute in Berlin. In this second part of our conversation, we talk about:The need to create cities with shared spaces The stigma of discussing the shame and suffering that comes with lonelinessEmbracing the discomfort of lonelinessHow AI and new technologies are shaping loneliness and belonging The connection between awe and lonelinessTo learn more about Monika’s work, you can find her at:Website: https://www.monikajiang.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monika.jiang/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-jiang/  To learn more about Ron’s work, you can find him at:X: https://x.com/roniveyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/monika.jiang/ Linkedin: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/ron-ivey-0bb9a33This episode is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) andthe Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show
Longing for Belonging - with Ron Ivey and Monika Jiang (Part 1 of 2)
Aug 27 2024
Longing for Belonging - with Ron Ivey and Monika Jiang (Part 1 of 2)
Sociologist Brandon Vaidyanathan talks to two experts combating our current loneliness crisis: Ron Ivey and Monika Jiang.Ron Ivey is a writer, researcher, and strategic advisor to business, governments, and philanthropies with a focus on social trust, belonging, and human flourishing.  Ron is currently the Managing Director of the Humanity 2.0 Institute and a Research Fellow at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program where he co-leads the Trust and Belonging Initiative. Ron also currently serves as a Fellow at the Centre for Public Impact, a global think tank seeking to re-imagine government and restore relationships between governments and those they govern. In 2017, Ron established a consultancy, Rembrandt Collective, to shape business strategies for trust, alignment and social impact. Monika Jiang, a second-generation Chinese immigrant, has always walked the line between feeling estranged and belonging. Her journey, marked by oscillations between aloneness, loneliness, and connection, has profoundly influenced her personal and professional life, shaping her into a visionary who senses what wants to emerge as we move closer to ourselves, each other, and the world. Professionally, Monika has made a significant impact at the House of Beautiful Business. Here, she helped build a global community of 50,000 members dedicated to a life-centered economy. By curating and hosting transformative gatherings, she helped business leaders imagine and transform themselves and their environments. Monika’s deep desire to move from loneliness to oneliness inspired her to found the initiative Sharing Our Loneliness. This initiative aims to raise awareness about the paradoxical power of loneliness to reconnect us with ourselves and others. She is a teacher in training with Humanize, an evidence-based program focused on fostering emotional and social skills, and she practices these skills based on social neuroscientific research at the Max-Planck Institute in Berlin. In this episode we talk about: Loneliness and growing up in a multicultural environment How the experience of shared loneliness can actually bring us closer togetherCurrent research on loneliness and social cohesion and the blind spots in policiesCross-cultural differences in lonelinessThe surprising beauty that can be found within our experience of lonelinessTo learn more about Monika’s work, you can find her at:Website: https://www.monikajiang.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monika.jiang/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-jiang/  To learn more about Ron’s work, you can find him at:X: https://x.com/roniveyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/monika.jiang/ Linkedin: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/ron-ivey-0bb9a33This episode is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) andthe Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)Support the show
Connecting Earth and Sky with Dr. Nalini Nadkarni (Part 2 of 2)
Aug 20 2024
Connecting Earth and Sky with Dr. Nalini Nadkarni (Part 2 of 2)
Nalini Nadkarni’s unique academic career interweaves her scientific research on rainforest canopy biota with innovative public engagement. She has written 150 scientific papers and books on the composition and ecological roles of canopy-dwelling communities, supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society. She also engages with those who do not or cannot gain access to science education, including faith-based groups, artists, corporations, and people who are incarcerated. Her work is featured in journals ranging from Science to Playboy, and in public media such as Science Friday, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and RadioLab. In 2023, the National Geographic Society named her as one of their ten “Explorers at Large.” Her awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the AAAS Award for Public Engagement, the National Science Foundation Award for Public Service, The Rachel Carson Award for Conservation, The Wilson Award for the Advancement of Social Justice, and the Archie Carr Medal for Conservation. In this second part of our conversation, Nalini discusses:How she created "Treetop Barbie" and overcame Mattel's attempts to stop herPartnering with faith groups to emphasize the spiritual value of treesInvolving inmates in meaningful conservation workLeveraging impact investment for sustainable ecological fundingTo learn more about Nalini’s work:https://www.nalininadkarni.com/ https://explorers.nationalgeographic.org/directory/nalini-m-nadkarni Follow us on social media for more updates:Twitter: @brvnathanInstagram: @brvnathanSubscribe to our newsletter for exclusive early access to episodes: www.beautyatwork.netThis episode is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) and Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/).Support the show
Connecting Earth and Sky with Dr. Nalini Nadkarni (Part 1 of 2)
Aug 13 2024
Connecting Earth and Sky with Dr. Nalini Nadkarni (Part 1 of 2)
Nalini Nadkarni’s unique academic career interweaves her scientific research on rainforest canopy biota with innovative public engagement. She has written 150 scientific papers and books on the composition and ecological roles of canopy-dwelling communities, supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society. She also engages with those who do not or cannot gain access to science education, including faith-based groups, artists, corporations, and people who are incarcerated. Her work is featured in journals ranging from Science to Playboy, and in public media such as Science Friday, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and RadioLab. In 2023, the National Geographic Society named her as one of their ten “Explorers at Large.” Her awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the AAAS Award for Public Engagement, the National Science Foundation Award for Public Service, The Rachel Carson Award for Conservation, The Wilson Award for the Advancement of Social Justice, and the Archie Carr Medal for Conservation. In this first part of our conversation, Nalini discusses:Her childhood love for treesHer pioneering research on the forest canopyHow the discovery of canopy roots reshaped our understanding of tree biology.Challenges and risks she encountered in her work To learn more about Nalini’s work:https://www.nalininadkarni.com/ https://explorers.nationalgeographic.org/directory/nalini-m-nadkarni Follow us on social media for more updates:Twitter: @brvnathanInstagram: @brvnathanSubscribe to our newsletter for exclusive early access to episodes: www.beautyatwork.netThis episode is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) and Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/).Support the show
Nostalgia: Yearning for Beautiful Memories with Dr. Clay Routledge (Part 2 of 2)
Aug 7 2024
Nostalgia: Yearning for Beautiful Memories with Dr. Clay Routledge (Part 2 of 2)
Existential psychologist Dr. Clay Routledge, Vice President of Research at the Archbridge Institute, discusses the science of nostalgia, and why our yearning for beautiful memories is not simply an escape to the past but a vital resource for innovation.Clay is a highly cited researcher who has published more than 100 scholarly papers, co-edited three academic books, authored three books, and received numerous awards for his research and mentorship. Clay regularly advises a range of organizations, from small startups to large companies, helping them use existential psychology and behavioral science more broadly to improve their products, services, and workplace culture. His latest book is Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life.In this second part of our conversation, Clay discusses:Why we are nostalgic for both good and bad timesHow nostalgia is a resource for innovation and spiritualityReflection exercises to harness nostalgia for personal growthTo learn more about Clay’s work, you can find him at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clayroutledge/ X: https://twitter.com/clayroutledge Human Flourishing Lab: https://humanflourishinglab.org Personal Website: https://www.clayroutledge.com Substack (Flourishing Friday): https://www.flourishingfriday.blog/ His latest book (Past Forward): https://www.amazon.com/Past-Forward-Nostalgia-Help-Meaningful/dp/1683648641/Follow us on social media for more updates:Twitter: @brvnathanInstagram: @brvnathanSubscribe to our newsletter for exclusive early access to episodes: www.beautyatwork.netThis episode is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) and Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/).Support the show
Nostalgia: Yearning for Beautiful Memories with Dr. Clay Routledge (Part 1 of 2)
Aug 3 2024
Nostalgia: Yearning for Beautiful Memories with Dr. Clay Routledge (Part 1 of 2)
Existential psychologist Dr. Clay Routledge, Vice President of Research at the Archbridge Institute, discusses the science of nostalgia, and why our yearning for beautiful memories is not simply an escape to the past but a vital resource for innovation.Clay is a highly cited researcher who has published more than 100 scholarly papers, co-edited three academic books, authored three books, and received numerous awards for his research and mentorship. Clay regularly advises a range of organizations, from small startups to large companies, helping them use existential psychology and behavioral science more broadly to improve their products, services, and workplace culture. His latest book is Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life.In this first part of our conversation, Clay discusses:His childhood experiences of profound beautyHow he came to pursue existential psychologyKey findings from his research on nostalgia, including its motivating and surprisingly future-oriented natureTo learn more about Clay’s work, you can find him at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clayroutledge/ X: https://twitter.com/clayroutledge Human Flourishing Lab: https://humanflourishinglab.org Personal Website: https://www.clayroutledge.com Substack (Flourishing Friday): https://www.flourishingfriday.blog/ His latest book (Past Forward): https://www.amazon.com/Past-Forward-Nostalgia-Help-Meaningful/dp/1683648641/Follow us on social media for more updates:Twitter: @brvnathanInstagram: @brvnathanSubscribe to our newsletter for exclusive early access to episodes: www.beautyatwork.netThis episode is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/) and Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/).Support the show
Beauty in Science: An Interdisciplinary Conversation at the University of Oxford (Part 2 of 3)
May 3 2024
Beauty in Science: An Interdisciplinary Conversation at the University of Oxford (Part 2 of 3)
In July 2022, we held an interdisciplinary panel at Magdalen College the University of Oxford on the role of beauty in science. The event was sponsored by Templeton Religion Trust and Magdalen College. The panel represented perspectives from diverse disciplines: mathematics, physics, biology, philosophy of science, and sociology.You can see the slides from the panelists’ presentations on the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/t6AQ9O2MLUY?si=VQpoyHYaMSWYpBoNThis is the second episode in the series; in our last episode we heard from Dr. Ben MacArthur and Dr. James McAllister. In this clip we’re going to hear from three panelists:Dr. Milena Ivanova is Bye-Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. She is the co-editor of The Aesthetics of Science: Beauty, Imagination and Understanding (Routledge, 2020), author of Duhem and Holism (Cambridge University Press, 2021), The Aesthetic Nature of Scientific Experiments (Routledge).Dr. Robert Gilbert is Professor of Biophysics in the Nuffield Department of Medicine and Director of the University of Oxford’s Medical Sciences Graduate School. He is the author of Science and the Truthfulness of Beauty (Routledge, 2018).Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder is the author of Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray (Basic Books, 2018) and Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions (Viking and Atlantic Books, 2022) and creative director of the YouTube channel “Science without the gobbledygook.”Support the show