Why You Want What Other People Want (with Luke Burgis)

About this episode

Kim Scott interviews Luke Burgis about his book 'The One and the Ninety-Nine', discussing identity and community in the modern age.

While the podcast team is taking a Radical Sabbatical, Kim is interviewing authors of the books that have had a big impact on her in the past two years.  In this episode, she’s speaking with Luke Burgis about his new book, The One and the Ninety-Nine, Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion.  Through stories ranging from the parable of the lost sheep to August Landmesser, the only person in a huge crowd to refuse to salute to Hitler, Luke describes the missing skill that makes real community possible: learning how to remain oneself while staying connected to others. He offers practical, tactical advice for how to recognize false belonging, escape coercive dynamics, and pass through the rites of passage that produce people with integrity and courage. This is a book that will help you figure out what YOU want, so that you can go get it rather than being distracted by what others want. Guest Background: Luke Burgis is the director of The Cluny Institute and a professor at The Catholic University of America, where he studies the invisible forces that shape human behavior. He is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life. He lives in…

People in this episode

Host: Kim Scott

Guest: Luke Burgis

Topics covered

• identity
• community
• social contagion
• belonging
• integrity
• courage

Keywords

• identity
• community
• social contagion
• belonging
• integrity
• courage
• Luke Burgis
• Radical Sabbatical

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The One and the Ninety-Nine, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life

Places: Washington, D.C., Michigan

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