The Context Window with David Deming Podcast

Afleveringen

• Ross Douthat on the case for God 03.06.2026 1u 21min

  Ross Douthat has spent his career making the case for God and against the meritocracy, to readers who mostly disagree with him. In this conversation with Harvard Dean David Deming, the New York Times columnist argues that belief in God is more reasonable now than it was a century ago, that consciousness may be the most supernatural thing we know, and that Harvard made him more ambitious and was not good for his soul. From there they go to meritocracy and magnanimity, admission by lottery, votes for parents, and what a 390-year-old university owes a country about to turn 250.Ross Douthat is a columnist at The New York Times, host of the Times Opinion podcast Interesting Times, and the author of seven books, including Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious and Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class. He graduated from Harvard College in 2002.Subscribe to The Context Window with David Deming: https://thecontextwindowpodcast.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecontextwindowpodcast.substack.com
• Angela Duckworth: 'Grit is not enough' 27.05.2026 1u 2min

  Angela Duckworth is famous for the study grit. But in this conversation with Harvard Dean David Deming, she tells a messier story: ten years of feeling "capital-L Lost" after Harvard, the loneliness of achievement, and why she now believes perseverance only works when your situation lets effort pay off. Her new book, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best, argues that grit is necessary but not sufficient — and that the people and places around you may matter just as much as the qualities you carry inside.Angela is a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, a MacArthur Fellow, and the author of Grit. She graduated from Harvard College in 1992 with the Fay Prize for best senior thesis, went on to a Marshall Scholarship at Oxford, worked at McKinsey, taught in public schools, ran a nonprofit, and started her PhD at 32 under Martin Seligman.You can find the full show notes here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecontextwindowpodcast.substack.com