Who is Zoe Ziegler?
A 19-year old idealist hailing from River Vale, NJ (which, fun fact, is also the hometown of legendary economist Tyler Cowen) and currently residing in Philadelphia attending the Wharton School.
She is also a podcast enthusiast, behavioral economics nerd, amateur philosopher, and aspiring change-maker.
Why do you like podcasts so much?
When I stumbled upon podcasts about 3 years ago, it was love at first listen. Only a few episodes in, I found podcasters opening my mind up to new ideas and ways of thinking. In that process, I also figured out that I’m more of an auditory learner. Diving deeper into the medium, I discovered the community of podcast listeners and creators who really care about authenticity and impact, which is more than can be said for a lot of “New Media”. This makes podcasts unique, as they’re one of the few media that isn’t nearly saturated with glib.
I often listen to podcasts while cooking, walking, or working out—times when it’s difficult or impossible to read. They’re fantastic for passive intellectual stimulation. Having experienced the unrivaled potential of podcasts to teach and entertain, I believe they are an increasingly important and emergent medium, and I’m excited to see where things go.
What are some of your favorite podcasts?
I tend to like shows that help me improve my thinking, give me insights into the creative process, or tell good stories on topics I care about. Some shows along these lines (besides The Psychology Podcast 🙂 ) are:
Rationally Speaking, a16z, The Moment with Brian Koppelman, James Altucher Show, Waking Up with Sam Harris, How I Built This
Why are you excited to be the new Executive Producer of the Psychology Podcast?
Before joining The Psychology Podcast team, I was a fan of the show. Not only did I regard Scott as one of the most delightful and earnest truth-seekers I’d ever had the pleasure of listening to (and still do!), but I also appreciated the show’s efforts to champion personal growth and well-being for listeners and offer a platform for interesting guests to share their wisdom. This mission is one that hits home for me. I am deeply passionate about spreading science and stories of human flourishing, and as such get a high from contributing to something that helps people better understand themselves and the world.
What are some of your deepest dreams (that you are comfortable sharing with the world at this time)?
Along those lines, my deepest dream is to build up a body of work that illuminates universal human truths and makes the world a better place at some scale. What form this life’s work will take is TBD (e.g. writing, podcasting, product designing). I am trained in product design, but more specifically I am fascinated by the way new media shapes culture and hope to contribute to this sphere in some capacity.
Who are some of your dream guests for the Psychology Podcast? Maybe if you say it here, it will become a reality. 🙂
I’d love for us to have Julia Galef on the podcast, perhaps when her book comes out, as her work has inspired several aspects of my intellectual development, and I believe there could be some interesting discussion of the interplay of ideas between the Rationalist and the Positive Psychology communities.
I’m also a fan of Debbie Millman’s work and the Design Matters podcast, and I think she’d make a great guest. Debbie is a lived example of many of the principles of that have been discussed on The Psychology Podcast relating to finding meaning and purpose, as well as the psychology of creativity, and I think listeners would find her story inspiring.
The last dream guest I’ll name here is Dan Pink, because he is known for bringing humanity and psychology to business contexts, which I personally appreciate and think could be interesting to entrepreneurial or business-oriented listeners.
I’d like to use a podcast accumulator. Where can I fond the RSS (really simple syndication) link of this site?
That’s great news! I’ve always loved the content but not the audio quality so hopefully that can improve now! Zoe, you probably already know this but it is vital to use hard compression settings so that those listening in their cars/public transport etc. don’t have to fiddle with the volume. I find Adobe Audition excellent as you can apply ‘adaptive noise reduction’, ’30 band EQ’, ‘multiband compressor’, ‘hard limiter’, and ‘mastering’ all with one click.
I surely hope she is still idealistic at 19! I share some of Zoe’s tastes in intellectual stimulation. I’d love to hear you interview Julia Galef, as Zoe suggested. Some of my other dream guests would be Danny Kahneman, Gary Klein, Keith Stanovich, David Perkins, and Howard Gardner. I would enjoy seeing you and Anders Ericsson get into the relationship expertise and creativity, though I expect that to be awkward as well as fascinating. I also would love to hear you interview the two people I most closely associate with deep thinking about the potential for human and technology collaboration for the future and whom I consider early prophets of that particular vision of human potential in a sense, Marlene Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter. Thanks for keeping this series fresh and fascinating.