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Episode:

Why humans need to matter
Category: Society & Culture
Duration: 00:47:01
Publish Date: 2026-03-30 08:00:00
Description:

Why do humans have this deep need to feel like we matter? 

Sean Illing talks with the philosopher Rebecca Goldstein about why “mattering” is not the same thing as being important, how the hunger for validation can go really, really badly, and the different ways we try to justify our lives to ourselves. Love. God. Winning. Greatness. Service. 

Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)

Guest: Rebecca Goldstein, author of The Mattering Instinct

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