Note To Self

We tend to click on things we agree with already. And social media networks like it that way. Bumming out your customers is a bad business model. This week, we talk with Tracy Clayton and Katie Notopoulos from BuzzFeed about why that's a problem, and get their tips on widening our everyday nets. With minimal ick factor.  Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Don't throw a turkey leg. Don't go ALL CAPS rage over racism on Twitter. This Thanksgiving, when the conversation makes your blood boil, take some deep breaths and just LARA. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Note to Self listeners are struggling to find joy on the internet after this election. Gretchen Rubin, 'Happier' host and author of the New York Times bestseller, The Happiness Project, has advice. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

The nation is divided, and we're all processing. So, we curated a list of 7 episodes from the archive for your post-election reality.  Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Americans voted. Now we can think way, way beyond 2016. The failed 2016 presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan (pretty convincingly) explains why you might live forever and vote for him and the Transhumanism party in 2040. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Can't afford a personal guru? No worries. Chade-Meng Tan, Silicon Valley's mindfulness coach, is making meditation accessible and he's got tips to incorporate it into our everyday lives. His latest book is, "Joy on Demand: The Art of Discovering the Happiness Within." Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Sure, legendary performance artist, Marina Abramović, got 750,000 people to wait in line at MoMA just to sit across a table from her. But can she get us ALL to count lentils? She just published Walk Through Walls: A Memoir and she stopped by N2S to chat with Manoush about how she's going to help us put down our phones and restore our overtaxed systems in a digital world.    Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.     

How Marina Abramović, the world’s most famous performance artist, got Manoush and producer Jen Poyant to sit in silence for 30 minutes before a "magic" performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

In a time of racial tension, how do you manage information overload—the storm of news online—when paying attention is painful? This week, two friends find their answer. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

This week, Manoush visits a micro-school in her Brooklyn neighborhood where the cushions are cozy and every child is optimized. Think Montessori 2.0... and the future of education if one former Google executive gets it right. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

After exchanging hand-drawn postcards for a year, two data designers discover how compiling and parsing the little things in life can lead to unexpected self-reflection-- and friendship. Those real-life pen pals and authors of the book, Dear Data, divulge some of their most revealing discoveries to Manoush with a special Note to Self soundtrack.  Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Algorithms are everywhere in our daily lives. But most of the time, we have no idea how they work. In this week's episode, ProPublica investigative journalist Julia Angwin explains how Facebook's algorithms categorize us. Plus, Note to Self listeners, we want you to get involved. Try out ProPublica's new tool, and tell us what you discover. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

In this bonus mini-episode, Chelsea Clinton tells Manoush why she's frustrated by the gender gap in tech. Plus, the art of juggling a new baby and a hectic campaign schedule. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Games are the new self-help. Jane McGonigal, game researcher and developer explains how, with the right approach, games can be a powerful tool for unlocking our best selves. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.

Imagine a future where every word you utter is recorded and saved. It's not that far off. Our guest Rose Eveleth, host and producer of the Flash Forward podcast, tested out the transcribed life to see what happens when nothing is off the record. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

On this week’s episode, Manoush goes to North Carolina to find out why a high school star quarterback and his girlfriend were charged with felonies for sending each other racy (or romantic, depending on your point of view) photos. Turns out the U.S. is at a crazy cultural crossroads when it comes to teenagers, sexting, and the law.  Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Touchscreen phones work so well for blind people that Braille may become obsolete. But advocates worry this could render the next generation "functionally illiterate." Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

If you're not one of Text From Your Ex's 1.9 million followers already, here's what you need to know: Elan Gale's brainchild is an Instagram account with pages and pages of awkwardness captured in screenshots. It turns out, reading through hundreds of thousands of other people's emotionally loaded conversations gives you some pretty profound insight into relationships, technology, and privacy (or rather... the utter lack thereof). Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Nearly 92 percent of kids in the U.S. have some digital presence by the age of two. But that doesn't necessarily mean your child's face should be all over the internet. So where should we draw the line? In this episode, which is a repeat from 2015, hear a debate about the ethics and etiquette of posting pictures of your kids online with three moms who have very different approaches: Note to Self Host Manoush Zomorodi, who posts nothing. Note to Self Executive Producer Jen Poyant, who posts every day on Instagram. Longest Shortest Time Host Hillary Frank, who posts drawings and side-angles but no faces. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Security technologist Bruce Schneier, author of “Data and Goliath,” says you should stop feeling guilty about skimming the Terms of Service. Get mad instead. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.