“Intelligence and self-deception appear to have co-evolved, with the belief that we are fully in control of our destinies serving as a mental safeguard, despite its inaccuracy.”
— Robert Sapolsky
Neuroscientist & primatologist known for stress research and public engagement

The quote archive

Justice

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

The climate crisis disproportionately affects the poorest countries and communities, small islands, and indigenous peoples—who contribute least to the problem. This crisis also embodies racial injustice, as those most affected are often people of colour.

— Mary Robinson

First Female President of Ireland & UN Human Rights Commissioner

Having a fiduciary duty implies an undivided loyalty to corporate interests, arguing that it's impossible to hold a fiduciary duty towards stakeholders since they are considered natural adversaries. Thus, according to the law, stakeholders are viewed as opponents.

— Alison Taylor

However, imagine living in a place where such financial avenues are virtually non-existent. Where hard work and ambition offer no promise of progress or escape from economic stagnation. This reality is stark for many.

— Naré Vardanyan

There are various forms of hostage-taking, each with distinct characteristics. Broadly speaking, one can categorise them into political and criminal hostage-takings. Political hostage-taking involves abducting someone to gain a political leverage—this is the first type. The second type is criminal hostage-taking, where the motive is ransom.

— Sir Terry Waite

Envoy Who Negotiated Release of Hostages in Lebanon During 1980s

It took me 10 years to secure a seed round, even with existing customers. Meanwhile, my Columbia peers would raise millions with just a pitch deck. I've had well-meaning partners suggest that appointing a white CEO would make fundraising easier.

— Devo Harris

Some foreign dictatorial regimes are bypassing traditional lobbying shops altogether and directly recruiting sitting members of Congress to act as foreign agents.

— Casey Michel

For years, one group of Americans has worked as foot-soldiers for the most authoritarian regimes around the planet. In the process, they've not only entrenched dictatorships and spread kleptocratic networks, but they've secretly guided U.S. policy without the rest of America even being aware.

— Casey Michel

There are situations that we could potentially change. However, due to habituation, we might not notice them as much. This also applies to societal issues like racism or sexism—because they've been present for so long, we might not notice them as much and therefore feel less motivated to address them.

— Tali Sharot

Neuroscientist known for research on optimism bias and decision-making

Around the world you've got somewhere between 1 and 2 billion people who are living in abject poverty. Economic growth offers the opportunity to reduce that 1 or 2 billion to 100,000–200,000 in the next phase.

— Baron Jon Moynihan

My role isn't to support one side or another but to pursue truth through my work, giving people an authentic view of the complexities of war. It's not a black-and-white issue; the people involved are complex and exist on a spectrum, and I try to convey that in my reporting.

— Trey Yingst

Fox News Correspondent and International Reporter

If you get just a little bit of a head start, you can end up racing far ahead. So you end up with very small differences in quality or merit that get amplified over careers or competitions, eventually becoming very large differences over time.

— Toby E. Stuart

If our future is to count as a utopia, we cannot allow a massive oppressed class of hyper-sentient, uncomfortable digital beings. We want it to be good for all kinds of minds.

— Nick Bostrom

Philosopher & Director of Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford

The problem is you cannot achieve all three E's simultaneously. Early work in the subfield of market design shows it's very hard and very unlikely you'll get a hidden market that can successfully allocate things efficiently and equitably in a way that's also easy.

— Judd B. Kessler