Pessimists Archive Podcast

Many people are reminiscing about the things they enjoyed during Covid, which is a surprisingly common thing to happen after bad or challenging times. Why do we do this? Because our memories work in strange, unexpected, but ultimately very helpful ways. In this episode, we take a deep dive into how our memories work — including why we remember good more than bad, why reminiscing about the past prepares us for the future, and how, in some way, we are all living a lie. (And that’s OK.) Get in touch: Website: jasonfeifer.com Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Instagram: Instagram.com/heyfeifer Twitter: Twitter.com/heyfeifer Free audio course on how to become more adaptable: https://www.jasonfeifer.com/free-training-audio-course/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are smartphones and social media addictive? Tech critics say yes. But actual addiction researchers say something else — and they point to ways in which our broad use of the word “addiction” can cause real harm. In this episode, we look at the history of supposedly “addictive” technologies, understand the surprisingly odd science behind today’s scariest claims, and discover who really has the power to break these supposed “addictions.” (Hint: It’s you.) Get in touch! Website: jasonfeifer.com Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Instagram: Instagram.com/heyfeifer Twitter: Twitter.com/heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What was once only available to kings and queens, but that you can do today? The answer: Shocking stuff you've never even thought of. If you ever worry that our world is in decline, this episode can help put that in perspective. We also look at some amazing predictions from 1921 about 2021, and see how we’re living in the world they only fantasized about. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Instagram: @heyfeifer Twitter: @heyfeifer Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve heard the story: Young people got “participation trophies” as kids, and it taught them to be entitled, lazy workers. But here’s what you haven’t heard: Participation trophies are 100 years old, and for most of that time, they were considered a good thing. Here’s the real story of how these trophies became villainized… and what their actual impact is.   Get in touch! Website: jasonfeifer.com Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Instagram: Instagram.com/heyfeifer Twitter: Twitter.com/heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can learn a lot from a simple margarita… because when you take one home from a restaurant in America, you’re participating in a change that was hundreds of years in the making. In this episode, we dig deep into how cocktails-to-go became suddenly legal (and why they were once illegal in the first place). It’s a surprisingly complex story that reveals our weird history with alcohol, and how the smallest shifts can lead to unexpectedly massive changes. Get in touch! Website: jasonfeifer.com Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Instagram: Instagram.com/heyfeifer Twitter: Twitter.com/heyfeifer (Click “Free Training” at the top for my course on how to become more adaptable!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We like to say that things were better before. But... what year was that, exactly? Join me on a trip through history, as we return to every supposed "golden age" to find out just how golden it was. Then we answer the big question: Is nostalgia useful or harmful, and how do we make people more excited for tomorrow? This is a full remake of our classic 2016 episode, now with lots more insights and history! Get in touch! Website: jasonfeifer.com Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Instagram: Instagram.com/heyfeifer Twitter: Twitter.com/heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast was called Pessimists Archive. Now it's called Build For Tomorrow. Why? Because this show is optimistic — and it needed a name that reflected that. It's the same show you love, now with a name that loves you back. Ready to help spread optimism? Here are some things you can do: 1. Sign up for my newsletter about how to find opportunity in change! 2. Tell friends about the show! Need my help? DM me on Instagram or Twitter. I'm happy to send a note to your friend. 3. Stay tuned. Because there's lots more fun stuff to come. By the way, the Pessimists Archive social media feeds are NOT changing their name. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We once knew how to do important things... until new technology made us weaker, lazier, and dumber. That’s a story we’ve told ourselves for centuries. But is it true? Get in touch! Website: jasonfeifer.com Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Instagram: Instagram.com/heyfeifer Twitter: Twitter.com/heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These feel like historic times… so how can we share our wisdom and experiences with future generations? Turns out, it’s really hard! This episode explores why time capsules fail, why almost nothing lasts for thousands of years, why the future may not care about us after all—and why all of that is just fine. Get in touch! Website: jasonfeifer.com Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Instagram: Instagram.com/heyfeifer Twitter: Twitter.com/heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve ever voted in an election, watched the Bachelor, or worried about the end of days, then you’ve probably fallen for a specific rhetorical trick. In this episode, we explore the history of the phrase “the most important election of our lifetime,” and why the human brain is so UNIQUELY, INSANELY, OUTRAGEOUSLY(!!!) susceptible to hyperbole. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Newsletter: https://jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a clear narrative about the 2016 and 2020 election hacking: It’s social media’s fault. But Russia has used the same strategy against America for 100 years (and that’s just the start). If we treat this like it’s only a Facebook problem, then we’ll never truly protect our elections. This is the history of election hacking in America, and the repercussions of calling something “unprecedented” when it’s not. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Newsletter: https://jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fork isn’t just a tool for eating. It’s also one of the greatest symbols of individualism — a utensil that people opposed for thousands of years, and that only gained acceptance once we started thinking differently about ourselves. This is the story of how the fork shaped us. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Newsletter: https://jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People said radio was too addictive... then TV was too addictive... and now smartphones are too addictive! Why does every generation say the same things about its new technology (and why do our fears rarely come true?) In this episode, we dive into the fascinating research that explains our cycles of panic — and explain how to finally end it. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Newsletter: https://jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take for two different people to find common ground? To answer that, we dig into a nine-year-old mystery. In 2011, two very different guys shared a pair of earbuds on the New York City subway. A photo of them went viral multiple times … but who were they, and what were they really doing? All is revealed. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email: jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Newsletter: https://jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People are refusing to wear masks during a pandemic. Why? To understand, we rewind to the “Anti-Mask League” of 1919 and to the opposition to seatbelt laws in the 1990s. Then we answer the big question: If people won’t listen to mandates, what *will* they listen to? Thanks to our sponsors: Plume.com/pessimists Betterhelp.com/archive Hullopillow.com/pessimistsarchive Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Covid-19 has interrupted our world, but it's also likely to improve it. After all, history shows that massive disruption is followed by massive opportunity. So what’s in store for us now? In this episode, we learn the surprising consequences of past crises, explore the innovations that may come from Covid-19, and try to understand why disasters are so productive. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People love natural foods and natural products... but what is "natural," really? In this episode, we explore that question by going back to one of the very first times anyone claimed a natural product was better than a man-made one: It's the great war between the "natural" ice industry and the brand-new refrigerator industry. And it can teach us a lot about the decisions we make today. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, people complain about self-obsessed millennials. Yesterday, they complained about children celebrating their birthdays. When the birthday party became popular in the 19th century, people worried that it would corrupt community, spoil children, and contradict the bible. But the truth -- about why we celebrate our birthdays and ourselves -- is far more complicated. Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you suffer from automobile face? What about airplane face? Or moving-picture face? These are just some examples from a strange historical pattern: For more than a century, people have claimed that new technologies are physically deforming our faces -- and we still say it today. (No, you don't have "tech neck"!) On this episode, we explore where this fear comes from, what it means, and what happens when the fear really does come true. Time to put on your podcast face! Get in touch! Web: jasonfeifer.com Email. jasonfeifer@gmail.com Twitter / Instagram: @heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The teddy bear: Is it cute and cuddly, or a “horrible monstrosity” that’ll destroy humanity? In 1907, many people feared the worst — that this new toy would ruin young girls’ developing maternal instincts, and lead us to a terrible fate. This is the story of how the teddy bear changed us all… and how we then changed the bear. Get in touch! Newsletter: jasonfeifer.bulletin.com Website: jasonfeifer.com Instagram: @heyfeifer Twitter: @heyfeifer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices