The Armen Show

Is there an intimacy famine in place at this time? Are people short of touch and connection that is vital for a healthy life? Indeed, “millions of people around the world are not getting the physical, emotional, and intellectual intimacy they crave.” Behavior scientist Dr. Michelle Drouin joins on episode 347 of the show to […]

Singer, songwriter, and voiceover artist Christina Aguinaga joins on episode 346, recorded with a great backdrop of the greenery and mountains. From her bio, “I’ve been using my voice for as long as I can remember. I grew up reading stories to my brother and sister, especially since we joined the reading program at the […]

N. J. Enfield is a professor and the chair of linguistics at the University of Sydney, and a research associate in the Language and Cognition Group at the Max Planck Institute. He joins on episode 345, where we discuss his latest book Language Vs. Reality: Why Language Is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists. […]

Welcome to episode 344 of the show with Professor Justin E. H. Smith, author of The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is, joining us on the program to discuss topics from his book. “An original deep history of the internet that tells the story of the centuries-old utopian dreams behind it—and explains why […]

Cities represent a place where wildlife once chose to be, and where we have come together with wildlife in the current moment. With wildlife thriving in cities, we have the opportunity to create vibrant urban ecosystems that serve both people and animals. The Accidental Ecosystem tells the story of how cities across the United States […]

Are you able to do one thing at a time with full presence or concentration? What are categories of life that we can look at to bring this full presence to? Self-improvement author and bibliophile Thatcher Wine joins us on episode 342 of the show to detail twelve such examples from his book The Twelve […]

When it comes to what we can learn about our senses from animals of the world, a lot is illuminated by Jackie Higgins, author of Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses. She joins on episode 341, with an array of organisms to present, along with the senses that those organisms inform […]

Following the great success of her first novel Le Tiers Temps, French novelist and producer Maylis Besserie has continued forward with her latest novel Les amours dispersées. She joins us from France on episode 340 of the show to discuss her novels, writing, themes from the content, and shares with us some of the elements […]

Ethical questions can come up in many facets of our life. What we do in a scenario says a lot about what we value, how we think about others, and I would add that it relates to our long-term well-being. On episode 339, returning guest Dr. Susan Liautaud brings her years of experience in the […]

Improvisation has taken language a far distance from its origination, with what we make up as we go adjusting the language over time. A delightful discussion on this topic ensues here with both past guest Professor Nick Chater and new guest Professor Morten H. Christiansen, co-authors of The Language Game: How Improvisation Created Language and […]

How important is language to the modernization of a nation? What did the modernization of Chinese have to do with making the country more modern? Professor Jing Tsu of Yale explores this topic in her latest book Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern, and she joins on episode 337 of The […]

Can you rewire your soul and the parts of your mind that you want to work on? Fellow podcaster and content-creator Chris Boutte of The Rewired Soul Podcast joins us on episode 336 of the show to discuss the content he has made in recent years, along with his process. We have spoken with some […]

What can we know about smartphones being in the hands of everyone, and always remaining on? Are there hopeful elements that relate with this, as well as elements to be worried about? After his 40 years as technology correspondent for the BBC, author Rory Cellan-Jones wrote about this topic in his latest book Always On: […]

How does uncertainty apply in our emotional and political lives? On episode 334, Professor Sheila Jasanoff of Harvard opens a forum on uncertainty and democracy in her volume titled Uncertainty. The debate that follows explores the ideas about uncertainty and experts in a democracy, as well its scientific, philosophic, and emotional aspects. Sheila Jasanoff is […]

Here on 2/22/2022, episode 333 of the show makes its way with Professor Todd Kashdan of George Mason University, author of The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively. If one wants to make a case for themselves that counters a view of superiors or others they are involved with, they have to […]

We want to up the electricity, and keep the voltage of our activity on a high note. What does it mean to have momentum in scaling, and then losing it after a period of time? What does it take to get to that high level of voltage in the first place? On episode 332, I […]

Welcome to episode 331 of the show, where we have journalist Florence Williams taking us through the personal and scientific story of a heartbreak in her book Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey. She showcases not only the personal element of the happening, but some of the scientific effects that come with the process. Florence […]

How far can influence take you? How can you be influential, while being ethical in the process? Yale Professor of Marketing Zoe Chance shares information on this topic, and is author of the book Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen. Professor Chance studies and teaches […]

As we make our way to episode 329 of the show, we switch things up with the creators of California Surf Fishing, a duo who fishes on the coast of California. Both Gary and Kaspar Kazazian have joined on previous episodes, but never both together and on video, and they join on this one to […]

How can the law make us better, and how does it connect with human behavior? In exploring the topic, authors Benjamin van Rooij and Adam Fine present many examples of how the law has been intended and applied. Professor van Rooij joins us on episode 328 to discuss this and more from his co-authored book […]