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Personal Growth

The Hunger for Mystery – Aaron Mahnke (of ‘Lore’) – Think Again – a Big Think Podcast #119

For thousands of years, all over the world, we’ve told tales of monsters and the undead. Why? Aaron Mahnke, creator of the ‘Lore’ podcast, on the hunger for mystery. 
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For thousands of years, all over the world, tales of monsters and the undead have populated the “whitespace” beyond the borders of our understanding. As the enormous popularity of the podcast ‘Lore” demonstrates, we’re still hungry for those stories today.

Why? 

Today’s guest Aaron Mahnke and host Jason Gots talk about the hunger for mystery, a human need almost as powerful as our thirst for knowledge. We also get into the meaning of work in people’s lives, and how Aaron started the podcast as a “last ditch effort” at turning his passions into a sustainable career. 

Surprise conversation-starter clips in this episode

Andrew Taggart on the cultural obsession with work, Stephen Greenblatt on the power of the Adam and Eve story

About Think Again – A Big Think Podcast: Since 2008, Big Think has been sharing big ideas from creative and curious minds. Since 2015, the Think Again podcast has been taking us out of our comfort zone, surprising our guests and Jason Gots, your host, with unexpected conversation starters from Big Think’s interview archives.

You’ve got 10 minutes with Einstein. What do you talk about? Black holes? Time travel? Why not gambling? The Art of War? Contemporary parenting? Some of the best conversations happen when we’re pushed outside of our comfort zones. Each week on Think Again, we surprise smart people you may have heard of with short clips from Big Think’s interview archives on every imaginable subject. These conversations could, and do, go anywhere.


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The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

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