Shows
Poets & ThinkersThe Myth of Greatness and Ethics in Business with author and writer Avram AlpertWhat if our obsession with being the best is actually holding us back? In this inaugural episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the myth of greatness with Avram Alpert. He is a writer and teaches at Princeton University. Avi challenges the idea that only the “best” deserve success. He proposes an alternative: “Embracing a ‘good-enough’ approach.” – with a focus on fostering sustainability, fulfillment, and a more equitable society.Avram takes us on a journey through the themes of his book, “The Good-Enough Life”. He unpacks how values influence business, politics, and human connection. We discuss real-world examples...2025-03-0344 min
WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday LifeWhen Is Life Good EnoughIn this episode of the WHY Podcast, Jack sits down with Avram Alpert, author of The Good-Enough Life, to explore the philosophical question: "When is life good enough?" Alpert, a writer, teacher, and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Art and Theory Program in NYC, discusses the themes of the book, which challenges the notion of perfectionism and advocates for a more realistic, fulfilling approach to life. Drawing from experience, history, and his academic background, Alpert offers insights on how we can live well without striving for unattainable ideals.2025-01-121h 17
The Accidental LeaderThe good enough leaderHappy 2025, everyone, and welcome to the first episode of the new year! This year for 2025, I am not just making a list of tasks to check off but am also envisioning the life I want by December 31st, 2025! Inspired by my business coach, I am focusing on creating a vision rather than just tasks. It's a lot like planning a trip in that you need to know where you're headed before mapping out the route!Tune in as I share how reflecting on this year made me realize that it is truly a pivotal one, reminding me...2025-01-0825 min
Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds“Lessons from the Global South on Designing Inclusive Tech” with Professor Payal AroraThe news about emerging technologies often sounds alarming as well as discouraging. Headlines talk about how algorithms control and oppress people. There are fears that AI could harm democracy, damage our social connections, or even cause human extinction. While these fears come from real concerns, it’s also important to recognize the good that technology offers. For young people, tech can provide a unique space for self-growth. In her book “From Pessimism to Promise: Lessons from the Global South on Designing Inclusive Tech”, award-winning author professor Payal Arora shares a different perspective, especially outside the Western world, where most young people...2024-10-0348 min
Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds“Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered” with Professor Don NormanHas human behaviour pushed our world to the edge, especially the mistaken belief that the earth’s resources are infinite? And can a shift in human behaviour rescue us? The challenges we face, from collapsing social structures to the climate crisis, have been centuries in the making. It is immensely critical that we take immediate and decisive actions; we must transform ourselves to improve our circumstances. In his new book “Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered” Don Norman offers an insightful analysis of our missteps and provides a clear remedy for making things better. The book suggests that t...2024-03-061h 00
The Storymakers Institute with Joel Carnegie"The Good Enough Life" with Avram AlpertThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thestorymakersinstitute.substack.comDo you lead a good enough Life? And what even is that? This week on The Storymakers Institute, say hello to writer, Avram Alpert.In Avram’s new book “The Good-Enough Life”, he argues the case that no one truly benefits from a world oriented towards greatness - and reveals how another way of life is possible from this competitive social order - a “good enough life” for all.For our final episode for this season, I sit down w...2023-12-1929 min
Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds“The Good-Enough Life” with Dr Avram AlpertWe live in a society driven by a relentless pursuit of greatness, where we are constantly pushed to attain the highest levels of wealth, power, and fame. This relentless fixation on greatness leads to stress and anxiety, strains our interpersonal connections, fosters extensive political and economic disparities, and contributes to the deterioration of our natural environment. In his book “The Good-Enough Life” author and educator Avram Alpert explores the idea of whether embracing our limitations could pave the way to a more satisfying existence and a more harmonious society. He explains why the relentless pursuit of competition within our social stru...2023-09-0257 min
Princeton UP Ideas PodcastThe Good Enough LifeToday’s book is: The Good-Enough Life (Princeton UP, 2022) by Avram Alpert. We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all. Dr. Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create...2023-03-301h 10
New Books in Politics and PolemicsThe Good Enough LifeToday’s book is: The Good-Enough Life (Princeton UP, 2022) by Avram Alpert. We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all. Dr. Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create...2023-03-301h 10
The Academic LifeThe Good Enough LifeToday’s book is: The Good-Enough Life (Princeton UP, 2022) by Avram Alpert. We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all. Dr. Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create...2023-03-301h 10
New Books in AnthropologyThe Good Enough LifeToday’s book is: The Good-Enough Life (Princeton UP, 2022) by Avram Alpert. We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all. Dr. Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create...2023-03-301h 10
New Books in Critical TheoryThe Good Enough LifeToday’s book is: The Good-Enough Life (Princeton UP, 2022) by Avram Alpert. We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all. Dr. Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create...2023-03-301h 10
New Books in Big IdeasThe Good Enough LifeToday’s book is: The Good-Enough Life (Princeton UP, 2022) by Avram Alpert. We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all. Dr. Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create...2023-03-301h 08
New Books in PsychologyThe Good Enough LifeToday’s book is: The Good-Enough Life (Princeton UP, 2022) by Avram Alpert. We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order, and reveals how another way of life is possible—a good-enough life for all. Dr. Alpert shows how our obsession with greatness results in stress and anxiety, damage to our relationships, widespread political and economic inequality, and destruction of the natural world. He describes how to move beyond greatness to create...2023-03-301h 10
Living Alone Together[book talk #2] The Good-Enough Life, Avram AlpertBook: Avram Alpert, The Good-Enough Life Powered by Firstory Hosting2023-02-231h 01
Living Alone TogetherIs it good to be aware of injustice? (On the Vicious Cycle of Invalidation)A new free dating site I made: https://oioilook.com My blog: https://yen1993.com In this episode, I explore the ideas of the Vicious Cycle of Invalidation and The Paradox Of Shame. Both terms are my invention. Book mentioned: The Good-enough Life by Avram Alpert Powered by Firstory Hosting2023-02-1749 minLiving Alone TogetherIs it good to be aware of injustice? (On the Vicious Cycle of Invalidation)In this episode, I explore the ideas of the Vicious Cycle of Invalidation and The Paradox Of Shame. Both terms are my invention. Book mentioned: The Good-enough Life by Avram Alpert Powered by Firstory Hosting2023-02-1549 min
Harvesting Happiness PodcastsThe Secrets of Good-Enoughness and The Good Life with Professors Andreas Elpidoru & Avram AlpertThere is a wide gap between feeling not enough and good enough. The secret to feeling good enough is using boredom and frustration to propel us forward toward achieving our goals. We become frustrated when we face obstacles to getting things we care about and it forces us to try another way of something new. By embracing our imperfections, and relinquishing our need to be right, we can all lead a good-enough life. To discover how to use our emotions in a way that creates a greater good for ourselves and our community, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen...2022-10-2700 minHarvesting HappinessThe Secrets of Good-Enoughness and The Good Life with Professors Andreas Elpidoru & Avram AlpertThere is a wide gap between feeling not enough and good enough. The secret to feeling good enough is using boredom and frustration to propel us forward toward achieving our goals. We become frustrated when we face obstacles to getting things we care about and it forces us to try another way of something new. By embracing our imperfections, and relinquishing our need to be right, we can all lead a good-enough life. To discover how to use our emotions in a way that creates a greater good for ourselves and our community, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen...2022-10-2752 min
Harvesting HappinessThe Secrets of Good-Enoughness and The Good Life with Professors Andreas Elpidoru & Avram AlpertThere is a wide gap between feeling not enough and good enough. The secret to feeling good enough is using boredom and frustration to propel us forward toward achieving our goals. We become frustrated when we face obstacles to getting things we care about and it forces us to try another way of something new. By embracing our imperfections, and relinquishing our need to be right, we can all lead a good-enough life. To discover how to use our emotions in a way that creates a greater good for ourselves and our community, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen...2022-10-2752 min
Harvesting Happiness Talk RadioThe Secrets of Good-Enoughness and The Good Life with Professors Andreas Elpidoru & Avram AlpertThere is a wide gap between feeling not enough and good enough. The secret to feeling good enough is using boredom and frustration to propel us forward toward achieving our goals. We become frustrated when we face obstacles to getting things we care about and it forces us to try another way of something new. By embracing our imperfections, and relinquishing our need to be right, we can all lead a good-enough life. To discover how to use our emotions in a way that creates a greater good for ourselves and our community, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen...2022-10-2652 min
The Pocket ContemplativeTry "Good-Enough" LivingLots of people--from popular bloggers to academics to contemplatives--are pitching that our drive for greatness might not be giving us what it promises. Might "good-enough" living offer us a kind of joy along with giving us a place in a whole world that's happier? Dave Schmelzer mentions four recent discussion of this before focusing on two, including the mega-popular self-help book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.Mentioned on this podcast:The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark MansonThe Good-Enough Life, by Avram Alpert2022-10-0120 min
The TLS PodcastWhy Is Everyone The GreatestAndrew Stark explores why those who gain recognition are almost never the most talented.https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-good-enough-life-avram-alpert-book-review-andrew-stark/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2022-09-2630 min
Converging Dialogues#146 - The Good Enough Life: A Dialogue with Avram AlpertIn this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Avram Alpert about the good enough life. They define what is the good enough life, pluralism and relativism, and spend time on what greatness is and maybe why it should not be emphasized. They discuss the elements of a good enough life for social policies, work, virtue ethics, and many other topics. Avram Alpert is a writer, lecturer, and organizer. Currently, he is a fellow at the New Institute in Hamburg, Germany. He has taught at Rutgers and Princeton University and his work has been published in p...2022-06-192h 20
Seize the Moment PodcastAvram Alpert (The Good-Enough Life): Why Good Enough is Better Than Great | STM Podcast #133On episode 133, we welcome Avram Alpert to discuss creating a good-enough world as opposed to one that solely benefits greatness, the myth of meritocracy and how it engenders biased outcomes, the talent that’s frequently overlooked in Western culture, the Buddhist belief that life is inherently unsatisfactory despite how wealthy or successful you are, the future-oriented mindset of obsessive striving and how it forms a barrier to momentary pleasures, why the good-enough world isn’t idealistic and would present problems (albeit more tractable ones), why communism failed and democratic socialism can succeed, and why everyone eventually suffers if most of u...2022-06-051h 09
The Rewired SoulThe Good Enough Life with Avram AlpertEpisode Notes
We all want the best in every situation. We want to be the best at what we do, we want the best relationships, and we want to be the best possible version of ourselves. But can this hunt for greatness lead to misery and other consequences? Today's guest is Avram Alpert to discuss his new book The Good Enough Life. We discuss how good enough is something we need to consider while not settling as well. We also discuss how this need for greatness leaves many behind in society and also affects our planet.
2022-05-031h 15
The Rewired SoulThe Good Enough Life with Avram AlpertWe all want the best in every situation. We want to be the best at what we do, we want the best relationships, and we want to be the best possible version of ourselves. But can this hunt for greatness lead to misery and other consequences? Today's guest is Avram Alpert to discuss his new book The Good Enough Life. We discuss how good enough is something we need to consider while not settling as well. We also discuss how this need for greatness leaves many behind in society and also affects our planet.Follow...2022-05-021h 15
Dive Into An Vivid Full Audiobook And Elevate Your Mindset.The Good-Enough Life by Avram AlpertPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/568617to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Good-Enough Life
Author: Avram Alpert
Narrator: William Hope
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 9 hours 14 minutes
Release date: April 19, 2022
Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1
Genres: Lessons in Philosophy
Publisher's Summary:
This audiobook narrated by William Hope explains how an acceptance of our limitations can lead to a more fulfilling life and a more harmonious society We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this...2022-04-199h 14
Your Favorite Stories, Now in Your Ears - Full AudiobookGood-Enough Life Audiobook by Avram AlpertListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttps://hotaudiobook.com/freeID: 568617
Title: Good-Enough Life
Author: Avram Alpert
Narrator: William Hope
Format: Unabridged
Length: 9:14:39
Language: English
Release date: 04-19-22
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Genres: Non-Fiction, Philosophy
Summary:
This audiobook narrated by William Hope explains how an acceptance of our limitations can lead to a more fulfilling life and a more harmonious society
We live in a world oriented toward greatness, one in which we feel compelled to be among the wealthiest, most powerful, and most famous. This book explains why no one truly benefits from this competitive social order...2022-04-199h 14
The Shmooze, The Yiddish Book Center's PodcastEpisode 0292: The Third Seder Goes VirtualRabbi Avram Mlotek joins "The Shmooze" to talk about the history of the Third Seder, a long-standing Yiddish cultural tradition. Avram lets us in on what's on the bill for this year's virtual Third Seder--from Yiddish day school students from Melbourne, Australia, who will sing the Four Questions to performances by Michael Alpert, Sarah Gordon, Daniel Kahn, Steve Skybell, and many more. The event, "The Third Seder: A Yiddish Celebration," co-sponsored by the Yiddish Book Center, will stream live on Facebook on March 21 at 2pm (EDT).
Episode 0292
March 13, 2021
Yiddish Book Center
Amherst, Massachusetts2021-03-1318 min